


A Study in Orange

by MessintoMessages



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Breakup, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mentioned Huang Ren Jun, Mentioned Lee Jeno, Mentioned Liu Yang Yang, Slow Burn, alcohol consumption, jaewoo not endgame, side lumark, sorry jaewoo shippers this baby is a rairpair fic now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-12-16 10:37:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21034877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MessintoMessages/pseuds/MessintoMessages
Summary: Things are complicated for Jungwoo. Or at least he thinks they are. But he soon realizes that the addition of a required study buddy redefines his definition of the word 'complicated'.:: The extraordinary Lee Donghyuck, and the chaos and calm he brings in the form of a study mate.Prompt #S019: study group 101 with Kim Jungwoo, point one: don't fall in love with your study mate.





	1. Boyfriends, roommates, and a study buddy?

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't think I would write almost 30K from a 16 worded prompt... but here we are!! I hope you all enjoy! And shout out to the prompter for this adorable prompt! I hope you enjoy most of all :D

Senior year of college. The last year before society expects you to become a full-fledged adult and enter the world knowledgeable and ready for the rest of your life.

Or at least that’s what was supposed to happen.

For Jungwoo, senior year came all too soon–maybe because he just wasn’t that ready to grow up yet.

He finally finished unpacking his dorm for the fourth and last time. At least this year he had the luxury of his own room. Jaehyun had asked him if he wanted to get an apartment together this year. He had said no. His boyfriend was in the process of finding a job and the last thing Jungwoo wanted to do was limit his options because he signed a lease here. Or at least that was the reason he was going with. Whatever else had brought him to decline Jaehyun’s offer wasn’t something Jungwoo wanted to dwell on.

This year was different though–he did all the unpacking himself. Usually he had Jaehyun there to ease the new semester anxiety, and to carry some of the heavier boxes, but unfortunately, he had been stuck at his summer internship longer than expected that week.

Jaehyun interned at a bank downtown in the finance department, and he had been recently offered an extension to the internship through the fall. Seeing as he had no other offers currently, it was common sense to accept.

And yet the disappointment still hung on Jungwoo’s shoulders. He had tried his best to prepare himself for the lack of time spent with his boyfriend as soon as Jaehyun graduated in May. But the last three years had been spent practically glued to one another; even before they were dating, they had been tied at the hip. Freshman Jungwoo, who didn’t know a soul at the university thousands of miles from home clung to the first person he met: his strikingly handsome and even more popular roommate.

Now, things were different, and Jungwoo wasn’t sure he liked different.

“Woo! Get your ass out here, we’re going for drinks!”

Instead of his quiet caring boyfriend, Jungwoo decided to get an on campus apartment with his best friend. His best friend who needed a lesson in volume control.

“Even Xiaojun is coming!” Chirped another equally excited voice.

Jungwoo sighed before opening his door to three expectant pairs of eyes.

“You really let Lucas and Hendery talk you into going out? The betrayal!” Jungwoo dramatically exclaimed towards a bashful looking Xiaojun.

Jungwoo met Lucas in an astronomy class in his sophomore year. They both found themselves in the same group and ever since then Lucas followed him around like a puppy. And one puppy soon became three as it seemed friendship with Lucas meant friendship with Xiaojun and Hendery as well. But Jungwoo wasn’t complaining; there wasn’t a dull day with friends like them.

And so, Jungwoo’s senior year of college he found himself living with all three of them. And maybe it was exactly where he wanted to be.

***

Drinks with Lucas and Hendery meant so much more than just drinks: it meant getting practically blackout drunk before midnight.

Thankfully they designated the crazy for only a few nights of the year, otherwise, Jungwoo would be stuck every weekend fearing for their safety and wellbeing.

“Oh god,” Jungwoo heard Xiaojun mutter as soon as they walked into the first frat house of the night.

Before Jungwoo even opened his mouth to ask, he locked eyes with the last person either of them wanted to be seeing at that moment.

A worried chuckle left Jungwoo’s lips, “Well, it looks like Lucas is gonna be wasted way earlier than scheduled.”

Mark Lee was the offending object of their discussion. Also known as their beloved friend’s ex. And what was worse was the purple-haired boy hanging off his arm.

“Isn’t that just Donghyuck though?” Hendery added walking up from behind them. “Aren’t they just friends?”

“I thought so, but does that look like just friends to you?” Xiaojun pressed, gesturing over to Donghyuck muffling his laugh into the shoulder of a seemingly unbothered Mark.

Jungwoo winced. If he learned anything about Mark in the time when he had dated his best friend, it was that he wasn’t fond of skinship.

Jungwoo turned around expecting to see a wrecked looking Lucas behind him only to find the man nowhere in sight. The relief that he had missed that touching moment between his ex and another boy quickly washed away at the realization that Lucas was, in fact, missing. 

“Oh god, he’s gone,” Jungwoo muttered, as the three of them gave each other a quick look before splitting up to go track Lucas down. 

Unfortunately, when Jungwoo came across him in the kitchen he already looked a good five shots down. 

“Really! This is only our first stop Lucas, take it easy,” Jungwoo said holding the now tipsy boy steady. 

“It’s fine! I’m going out there!” 

Jungwoo sighed as Lucas slipped out of his hands and sauntered towards the living room. This wasn’t going to end well. 

“You found him,” Hendery said uneasily after he bumped into the stumbling boy on his way out of the kitchen. 

“Yeah and look where he’s b-lining it to… should we stop him?” Xiaojun added popping up next to Hendery. 

“Ehhhhh…” Jungwoo knew it would be hard to stop Lucas once he set his sights on something, and he looked pretty determined at the moment. “Probably?” Jungwoo looked back to his other two friends shrugging.

“The least we could do is mediate… I guess. We can’t just let him embarrass himself like this, he is our friend after all,” Hendery suggested. 

The whole Mark and Lucas thing was… difficult. It had been such an on and off thing that none of them could figure out when they were dating and when they weren’t. The three of them quickly realized it was a matter that was best for them to stay out of, not only for their own wellbeing but also for Lucas’. Constantly having your friends up in your complicated relationship business wasn’t really fun for Lucas. 

Walking up, Jungwoo quickly regretted the decision to involve himself as he saw the mess that was unfolding in front of his eyes. However, by the look of it, Lucas needed saving. 

“But- but… are you two together? That’s all I’m asking, really!” Puppy dog eyes. Lucas was giving them his puppy dog eyes. And it quickly made sense as to why Mark was looking anywhere but at Lucas, that look was one thing Mark could never resist, they all knew that. 

“And? So, what if we are?” Donghyuck snapped back at him with the fury of a thousand men. 

The pout on Lucas’ face grew deeper and Jungwoo realized it was time to step in. 

“Alright! I’m just going to snatch Lucas away for a moment,” Jungwoo said accompanied with an awkward laugh. 

“I sure hope it’s longer than a moment,” Donghyuck practically snarled in return, except it was quite unthreatening… while Donghyuck had a sharpness to his words that could kill a man, his face screamed nothing but harmless baby. Jungwoo was tempted to coo. But instead, he sent his friends a look that said something along the line of “yikes” as they all pulled Lucas away from the mess he just started. 

***

The rest of the night was extremely uneventful. 

After Lucas’ confrontation, all he demanded was to go get ice cream. No shocker there, as it was his number one comfort food. Jungwoo clearly remembers finding him four tubs of rocky road deep after every one of his breakups with Mark. 

So instead of wasted, they found themselves walking home before 10 PM with ice cream cones in hand. 

The rest of the week prior to class starting followed a similar tone, uneventful.

Mark’s name wasn’t brought up and neither was Jaehyun’s. Everyone in the apartment knew that things were rocky at the moment on both ends. Jungwoo tried to let his friends know they were just going through a change, that’s all. But the three of them were smart enough to know not to bring it up. 

It was only Wednesday, Jungwoo knew he wouldn’t see Jaehyun until the weekend, as a matter of fact, he had told Jaehyun not to come until the weekend. But that didn’t stop him from hoping he would come by to surprise him on his first day of classes. He knew he wouldn’t though, that wasn’t Jaehyun. He had always been a very logical person, which meant skipping out of work and coming to see his boyfriend, who was busy juggling his first week of senior year, was _ not _something Jaehyun would do.

It was something that drew him to his boyfriend at first. He always somehow knew how to make sure that Jungwoo was comfortable at all times, how to balance out his anxieties quite well. And seemingly great at juggling their relationship and reality, always knowing when he had time to put Jungwoo first. It was amazing, he felt like he never had someone that committed to him, that invested in his wellbeing. 

But sometimes… sometimes he just didn’t listen to Jungwoo, assuming he knew what was best. 

Like the first year they had dated, when Jaehyun had asked Jungwoo what he wanted for his birthday and he had rattled off a billion and one ideas, a lot of them involving cute activities they could do as a couple. But biking along the river or going to a trampoline park wasn’t what Jungwoo received for his birthday that year. Jaehyun, had gotten him a watch. A very nice, and clearly expensive watch, staying that it was important to have at least one good watch in your lifetime. Jungwoo, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with the expensive purchase, demanded Jaehyun take it back even though he did in fact think it was beautiful. And instead of listening to Jungwoo’s words Jaehyun had misunderstood all on his own, assuming Jungwoo just didn’t like his gift, which just lead to another mess.

Knowing all this, Jungwoo didn’t even bother to ask Jaehyun to come. He knew he wouldn’t, and saying anything different wouldn’t convince him. It was easier to tell him to stay in town, that way Jungwoo wouldn’t end up let down.

“He knows you get like this Woo, what is he an idiot?” Hendery scoffed as he flung the crust of his toast into the trash can halfway across the room.

Jungwoo had been packing and repacking his book bag to make sure he had everything he needed for class for the past half hour. 

Jungwoo sighed. “He’s busy. Plus, I told him not to come.” 

Hendery quirked up his eyebrow but chose not to comment. He threw his backpack on nonchalantly and ripped the door open ignoring the look Jungwoo was shooting him. “Come on. I know if you’re not at least 45 minutes early you’ll have a breakdown.”

“Don’t say it like that,” Jungwoo pouted. “I know you like to get there early too.” 

Hendery gave him an exasperated looking smile as he motioned for Jungwoo to get through the door faster. 

***

Thankfully, Jungwoo got to class with just enough time to spare. Aka, he had a fresh coffee in his hand and still was able to sit outside the classroom door for at least 30 minutes before it swung open letting the class before his out. 

By the time he was able to get in the door he wasn’t the only person there, of course. However, he was still able to snag a decent seat. One slightly towards the front, but not too close, and off to the side so he wouldn’t be in the professor's direct eye line. 

The room itself was very small. It almost felt like he was back in high school as the class would probably only hold around 20 students. Apparently not that many people took the upper-level Probability and Statistics class. But the further he had gotten into his major, the more classes he had like this. The desks were set up with two chairs each which meant he would have to be in close quarters with some stranger for an hour and a half three days a week. He shuddered at the thought. 

Taking out his notebook he scribbled the date to try to distract himself, but fate seemed to hate him and too soon enough he heard the chair next to him being dragged against the floor. 

“Jungwoo right?” 

Jungwoo’s neck snapped up and he made eye contact with none other than Lee Donghyuck. Unfortunately, the only time he had officially spoken to him recently was a few nights ago when he was pulling an obnoxious Lucas away from interrogating him. He remembered seeing him here and there with Mark when Lucas and him were still together, but other than that he didn’t really know him. 

Because of that, he answered with an awkward laugh. “Sorry about uh… the other night.”

“I’ve been around Lucas enough, I get it,” Donghyuck responded with a shrug as he sat down. 

Well, that’s good. At least he isn’t mad, Jungwoo thought. He could work with sitting next to someone he knew. 

“This is a pretty high-level class, aren’t you just a sophomore?” Jungwoo found himself asking. 

Donghyuck took out his own notebook, slapping it down on their shared table. “I took a lot of college courses in high school,” he responded without even looking up. 

Jungwoo hummed. 

Before he was able to press Donghyuck further, the professor walked into the room, effectively beginning class. It was boring as all first days are, going over the syllabus and what the professor expects throughout the semester. Well, it was boring up until the very end. 

“There will be a semester long project of sorts that I will be going over further on Friday, however, effective right now you are sitting next to your partners. So, if I were you, I would get their information before you leave this room today. Class dismissed.” 

Jungwoo froze. Sitting next to Lee Donghyuck was one thing, one thing he could somewhat handle. But having to meet up with the dude, who was possibly dating his best friend’s ex, outside of class all semester was a recipe for disaster. 

“My schedule is pretty packed this semester, so I only have time to meet up on the weekends.” 

Amidst his mental break down, Jungwoo almost missed Donghyuck speaking to him. It took a second for his mind to catch up. 

“Uh… the weekend? I can’t do the weekends.” It was the only time he had to see Jaehyun, he couldn’t do the weekends. 

But when he finally looked up, he found that Donghyuck was long gone, only a sticky note with 10 numbers left in his wake. 


	2. A bothersome friend, study session one, and a “surprise” visit.

“This is great Woo!” Lucas practically choked on his burger he was so excited. Not the reaction that Jungwoo was expecting when he told him about his new stats partner. “Now you can find out if they are really together.”

“And if they are?” an annoyed looking Xiaojun asked. 

“Well, then Woo can just break them up!” Lucas looked like he just figured out the meaning of life and it was quite unsettling. 

“Yeah, no. Plus I’ll have to ask for a new partner anyways if he doesn’t want to be flexible with his schedule. I can’t do the weekends.”

“No offense, but Donghyuck doesn’t seem like one to be flexible…” chirped Hendery from behind his extra-large Dr. Pepper. 

Hendery had a point, Jungwoo knew that. Especially since the text he had sent him had been left unread for the past 7 hours. 

Donghyuck didn’t grace him with a response until 2 days later, only hours before he had to see him in class again. And it wasn’t the one he was looking for.

_ “Sorry, like I told you the weekends are the only time I have free. Guess you’ll have to find us new partners.” _

Jungwoo sighed, this wasn’t the kind of message he wanted to wake up to. He also did not ask for that amount of sass this early in the morning. Instead of responding, he locked his phone and decided to drag himself out of bed, actually having a legitimate reason to get to class early. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t even matter, because just like the day before the professor showed up seconds before class started and began class instantly, not giving Jungwoo any time to speak with him. He regretted not emailing him the day before. 

“So, found us new partners yet?” Donghyuck said as he sat down, coming in only moments after the professor himself. 

“No,” Jungwoo said refusing to make eye contact with him. “I’ll see what I can do after class.”

Donghyuck scoffed for a reason Jungwoo was unsure of but said nothing else. The rest of the class was spent in silence, Jungwoo only slightly panicking over the task ahead. In the end, he just managed to grab the professor right before he walked out of the classroom, Donghyuck lingering slightly behind him.

“Um… I’m sorry but is there any way we could request new partners? Our schedules don’t really match up so…” Jungwoo asked shyly.

“It’s a bit late for that now seeing as the first section is due on Monday.” And with that, their professor was gone as fast as he had come. 

“Well,” Donghyuck said finally walking up next to him, “Looks like you’re stuck with me. Which means I’ll see you tomorrow at noon!” 

“But! I have plans then…” his words fizzled out at the end as he watched Donghyuck skip off down the hall. 

Jungwoo sighed as he pulled out his phone. 

“ _ Sorry hyung but something came up tomorrow. _ ”

*** 

Moping. 

That’s how Jungwoo spent the rest of his Friday. 

That is until Lucas came home, and the feeling was replaced with was immense annoyance. He probably should have known better than telling him when and where he was meeting up with Donghyuck, now in fear that Lucas would show up with him the following day. 

“Why won't you let me come along! It’s not like I’m going to bother you guys!” Lucas whined.

They had decided to have occasional roommate movie nights and Lucas was ruining the very first one. 

“What do you even mean Lucas, that’s exactly what you’re going to do!” Jungwoo hissed back. 

“Would you two shut up!” Hendery barked. Between that and the death looks Xiaojun was sending Lucas for the past 15 minutes Jungwoo was surprised he hadn’t said something sooner. 

“It’s just Cars 2,” Lucas shot back. 

A gasp fell simultaneously out of the other three, as Lucas shot his hands up in defense. 

“How dare you,” Xiaojun uttered, looking close to stabbing Lucas with the spoon he was eating his ice cream with. 

“Okay, fine. I’m sorry. Cars 2 is a wonderful masterpiece of a movie, so I’ll stop talking for your viewing pleasure. It’s of course not like we’ve watched this movie a hundred times before. My bad. Happy?” 

Hendery looked over at Jungwoo awestruck, “Throw the whole man away. Time to look for a new roommate and best friend.” 

“He’s just angsty cause the love of his life is dating my study buddy.” Jungwoo fake pouted in Lucas’ direction as he chucked a handful of popcorn at him. 

“Hey no…” Lucas responded a frown painting his lips as he munched on a few pieces of popcorn that had landed on his shirt, “I just want to know if they really are dating or not.”

Jungwoo rolled his eyes, and he would have totally kept the back and forth going with Lucas if they weren’t watching Cars 2. 

“If I find out for you, would that be enough?” Jungwoo conceded. 

Lucas thought for a moment. “Promise?”

Jungwoo sighed, “I’ll try.”

***

Jungwoo got there way too early. 

He thought maybe if he got there earlier he would be able to leave early too. He had promised Jaehyun that they could still possibly go out that night if he finished up with Donghyuck at a reasonable time. 

But of course, as if he was harboring some bad karma against him, Donghyuck showed up an hour late. 

“Why do you look so angry? I texted you that I would have to move it back an hour early this morning? Was that not enough notice?” 

There really wasn’t any sarcasm in his tone, but Jungwoo was irritated so he was convinced he heard some somewhere. On top of that, Jungwoo hadn’t seen any text from Donghyuck, he was sure of it. He had been checking his phone nonstop for the past hour. And that’s exactly what he told him. 

“It definitely sent,” Donghyuck said flipping around his phone and sure enough there was the message. 

Jungwoo quickly scrolled through the myriad of messages he had sent Donghyuck over the past hour, and at the very top there it was. 

“Oh… I- I must not have seen the notification.” Jungwoo knew his face was the shade of a cherry tomato, he felt beyond embarrassed. He just practically snapped at Donghyuck for nothing. 

“Naw you’re fine. I mean, you were the only one who suffered,” he said shugging. “How long have you been sitting here to look that frustrated with me?” Donghyuck snickered finally taking a seat. 

Jungwoo furrowed his brow, he wasn’t sure if that was supposed to make him feel better or worse. 

“A while…” Jungwoo answered not fully looking at Donghyuck. 

“You got here really early didn’t you?” That realization seemed to make him laugh even harder. 

“Hey! I have plans later okay, I was trying to get a head start on things,” Jungwoo said a small pout forming at his lips.

“So did you?” 

“Uh… I was waiting for you.”

“Oh my god.” Donghyuck paused for a moment, looking at Jungwoo like he was possibly the stupidest human being on the planet. It really didn’t help the blush that was still painting his face. 

After a moment, however, a large smile grew on Donghyuck face. “I guess we should get started then.”

The rest of the time spent with Donghyuck thankfully went pretty smoothly. It turned out that rather than a group project, it was more like a forced study group with the project component not really starting until later on in the semester. 

But Jungwoo wasn’t complaining. He actually favored having someone to study with, plus Donghyuck seemed to be really knowable on the subject. 

“What’s your major anyway?” Jungwoo finally found himself asking towards the end of the intro packet they were working through. 

“Computer science, but I’m taking a concentration in statists…” Donghyuck scratched the back of his neck, “That’s kinda why I’m good at this. It practically just a review from the last stats class I took,” he laughed awkwardly and Jungwoo was taken back seeing a more humble version of him. 

Jungwoo hummed. “I’m a math major, but stats really isn’t my strength. I want to be a teacher actually.”

“Wow you’re a math major but you’re not good at all types of math? What’s up with that?” The sarcasm dripped from Donghyuck’s words. “I guess you will have to rely on my intellect.” 

That’s more along the lines of the Donghyuck that Jungwoo knew, or at least was getting to know. Jungwoo rolled his eyes but there still was still a smile on his face, how did Donghyuck portray cockiness so adorably? He wasn’t sure. “I guess I will.” 

It was interesting actually, getting to sit down and get to know Donghyuck, he was a lot different than the boy he had first met, or the one at the party or even the one on the first day of class. He was still a bit snarky, but there was this undeniable warmth about him that made being around him extremely comfortable. So comfortable even that he had seemingly lost track of time. 

“Jungwoo?”

Jungwoo jumped not expecting the voice coming from behind him. He quickly turned around a smile pulling at his lips. But as soon as he saw the look on his boyfriend’s face his smile was replaced with a frown. 

“What’s wrong?” He whispered in lieu of a greeting. 

“Haven’t you seen my texts? Do you know what time it is?” Jaehyun didn’t raise his voice, ever. But the mix of irritation and worry in his voice still made Jungwoo feel awful. 

“Sorry, my phone has been acting weird.”

“I can vouch for that,” Donghyuck added, clearly trying to help.

Jaehyun glanced over at Donghyuck, eyebrows furrowing as he made eye contact with the younger. 

“Uh… Jaehyun this is Donghyuck, Mark’s friend. You remember Mark right?” Jungwoo began. Turning to Donghyuck he continued. “This is my boyfriend Jaehyun. With whom I actually had plans with tonight, so if it’s okay with you I should go…” 

Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows at Jaehyung in return. “We’re not done though…”

Jungwoo sighed before weighing his options. “I’ll just finish it up this weekend, there’s really not that much to do anyway.” He was the one ditching Donghyuck, he could hardly force him to do the rest. 

Donghyuck glanced between the two. “But-“

“It’s really okay! Plus, like you said, it’s practically review right?” 

“Fine. I guess, less work for me,” Donghyuck responded, quickly packing up his things. “I’ll see you on Monday.” 

“Didn’t you tell him you had plans,” Jaehyun murmured.

Jungwoo took a deep breath. “Yes… But I had just lost track of time. We both had. I really am sorry.” 

“It’s fine. It’s just we hardly get to spend time together, and now this. I don’t know,” Jaehyun sighed, pulling together the things Jungwoo had left on the desk. 

“I promise I’ll make it up to you,” Jungwoo said once they had successfully left the library, hand intertwined within Jaehyun’s.

The rest of the evening felt stressed like something was bothering Jaehyun. But when he tried to bring it up, he was met with nonchalance. 

“Are you sure everything’s alright,” Jungwoo asked again once they had paid the bill for their dinner. 

Jaehyun sighed. “I just feel like I get no time with you, and then when you finally let me come visit, you’re busy spending your time elsewhere.”

Before Jungwoo could retort his statement, Jaehyun was speaking again. 

“You know what, nevermind. I should just be happy that I get to be with you now.”

He wasn’t sure how, or when, but he needed to do something. Or at least Jungwoo felt like he had to. Something had to change before they were both pulled too thin. 

But when he awoke to an empty bed the next morning, a note left on the pillow reading something about having to rush into the office, Jungwoo wasn’t sure he had the energy left to try. 


	3. New hair, new news, and a new conversation.

“Your hair is orange,” Jungwoo stated upon seeing Donghyuck, who had just unceremoniously plopped down next to him. 

“Don’t you know Jungwoo?” Donghyuck said running his hands through his freshly dyed hair. “Orange is new purple.”

Jungwoo really didn’t understand what he meant by that; he had been extra distracted that morning and he knew trying to figure it out would just make his head hurt worse. He had hardly heard from Jaehyun at all the day before, besides the note he left and a short text that he had made it back into the city safely, and he couldn’t help but feel like he had done something wrong. 

So ultimately, he decided not to question Donghyuck’s color related statement, instead answering him with a smile. 

“I preferred the purple,” he deadpanned smile still playing at his lips. But as soon as a pout was found on the younger’s lips Jungwoo giggled poking Donghyuck’s cheek with the back of his pen. “Don’t worry, being a ginger suits you!”

Donghyuck groaned as he shooed Jungwoo’s pen away. “It’s  _ orange  _ not ginger!” 

“Sure, it is Hyuckie,” Jungwoo responded, finally reaching up to fully pinch at Donghyuck’s cheeks. They were just too adorable he couldn’t help himself. 

There was something about being around Donghyuck that ripped Jungwoo out of his reality. He was becoming an interesting distraction to his day to day anxieties, and Jungwoo wasn’t quite sure if that was a good or bad thing. 

“So, you’ve got the packet we were working on?” Donghyuck asked after he fended off Jungwoo’s attacks, cheeks pink from presumably being pinched.

“Oh god.” 

All the color drained from his face. He had forgotten to finish it. He had all day yesterday to work on it but worrying about Jaehyun took up a massive amount of headspace. Not good. 

“Are you kidding me Jungwoo? Really?” 

There wasn’t a single emotion on Donghyuck’s face and Jungwoo thought it was especially terrifying that way. 

“I mean, I have the packet!” Jungwoo quickly dug around in his backpack before pulling it out. “It’s just… not finished.” 

Donghyuck sighed and quickly glanced over at the clock on the wall. “You are so lucky I got here early for once.” 

There were honestly only three or four unanswered questions, but Jungwoo was certain that barely five minutes wasn’t going to be near enough time to finish them when it took them all afternoon to do about 20 of them. 

Jungwoo felt like he was going to throw up watching Donghyuck furiously scribble out the last few answers. He wasn’t sure why though, he knew it probably would have been fine if they left a few blank. Not the end of the world. But the amount of effort Donghyuck was throwing into finishing it made him so nervous he felt sweat start to bead down his back. 

Things only got worse when the professor walked in and Donghyuck was still working. 

“Alright everyone if you could pass your packets forwards.” 

Three seconds later Donghyuck was practically chucking the packet forwards. 

“Wow Woo, you know you’re so lucky my next class is canceled. Now you can buy me food right away as your thanks!” Donghyuck said after the work was successfully turned in. 

Jungwoo sat there blinking at him for a moment. “You know the orange hair really suits you.” 

Donghyuck ran his fingers through his hair, eyebrow quirking up. “So only now do you decide to compliment me.”

***

The thank you lunch quickly turned into a whole fiasco when Hendery and Xioajun decided to show up. 

“Please tell me Lucas isn't in the vicinity,” Jungwoo hissed in Xioajun’s ear as soon as he plopped down in the seat next to them. 

“We both know he’s in that upper-level astronomy class right now.”

“No, I did not know that. But really? Another one? Maybe he should just make that his major.”

The last thing Jungwoo needed was for Lucas to storm up and berate Donghyuck with questions about his relationship status when he was trying to make it up to the poor kid. 

“Is Donghyuck our new lunch buddy?” Hendery asked excitedly. 

“No,” Jungwoo responded curtly. 

“Oh my god, ouch!” Donghyuck grabbed his chest in faux agony. “Wow, I see how it is Woo. If you don’t want me around...”

Jungwoo watched as Donghyuck mustered up his best attempt at puppy dog eyes, which in his opinion were pretty convincing. Maybe not on Lucas level, but close.

Jungwoo laughed at Donghyuck’s dramatics. “Yeah, ‘no’ as in I realize you’re usually in class at this time.”

“Oh yeah,” Donghyuck said as though he himself just realized.

“With hair as bold as that, a seat is defiantly open regardless,” Xiaojun responded cheerfully.

“Yeah dude, I like the new look!” Hendery added. “What does Mark think about it?”

Jungwoo watched Hendery’s eyebrows raise then quickly furrow as Xiaojun kicked him from underneath the table. Jungwoo just sighed, he really thought they were in the clear because Lucas wasn’t there.

“Mark?” He scoffed. “As if I care what that pipsqueak thinks.”

Silence fell on the table as everyone there took in what had just come out of Donghyuck’s mouth.

“Wait isn’t he like your boyfriend or something though?”

Jungwoo practically snapped his neck with the force that he looked over at Xiaojun with. He really couldn’t take any of his friends anywhere.

“Are you kidding me?” Donghyuck burst out into laughter, whipping his eyes as tears threatened to spill over.

The three of them simply stared at him in utter confusion as to what was happening.

“First of all, gross. Second of all, he’s madly in love with Lucas… I thought you guys knew that.” Donghyuck said after he had managed to catch his breath.

A short moment of silence hung in the air as the three processed Donghyuck’s words, and then they were all practically groaning in unison.

“Great,” Jungwoo sighed. “This might even be worse than him thinking Mark and Donghyuck are together.”

“Okay well since my thank you lunch was ruined by talk of the two people who stress me out most in the world…” Donghyuck chucked his backpack over the table to Jungwoo. “You can carry my bag to class!”

Jungwoo shot Hendery and Xiaojun a look of disdain before throwing Donghyuck’s bag over his shoulder. “I’ll catch you guys later.” But a small smile settled over his lips as he turned his back to his friends.

“Alright, we are even now Hyuck,” Jungwoo said tossing the bag back to Donghyuck once they reached his class.

“I like that nickname,” Donghyuck instead responded, giving Jungwoo a slight wave as he entered the room.

***

“Have you told him?” Jungwoo asked after finally making it home from class.

“Told who what?” Lucas asked looking up from his laptop upon Jungwoo’s arrival.

“No,” Xiaojun answered from the couch.

“I’m surprised Hendery hasn’t said anything…” Jungwoo commented. 

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s waiting to see his reaction in person.”

“Okay, can somebody tell me what’s going on?” Lucas asked.

“Give it like fifteen minutes and you can ask Hendery yourself,” Jungwoo responded making his way to his room.

Xiaojun just chuckled, choosing to focus his attention back to whatever he had been watching on his phone.

And sure enough, fifteen minutes went by and Hendery was busting through the door to their apartment.

“Have you told him yet?”

Lucas just groaned and let his head hit the table in front of him.

“I don’t know if that’s a yes or no…” Hendery said glancing from Lucas to Xiaojun.

“It’s a no,” Jungwoo responded coming back out of his room. Hell if he was going to miss this.

“Okay, so you’ll never guess what Donghyuck said today.”

Lucas’ head snapped up from the table, eye wide. It was obvious he was holding his breath.

Jungwoo watched Hendery pause for dramatic effect, or rather to keep Lucas on edge for a few more seconds. And right before Lucas was about to protest, Hendery opened his mouth.

“So, he dyed his hair right, it was pretty sick honestly… Xiaojun even told him he could hang with us having hair like that. He was actually eating lunch with us because he covered for Jungwoo or something, so he told Jungwoo to buy him lunch. Bold huh! I like the kid…”

“Okay, can you just get on with it!” Lucas snapped.

A mischievous smile spread over Hendery’s lips. “I was getting there. Well, I asked him what Mark thought of his hair, naturally of course seeing as he was supposedly his boyfriend and bright orange hair was quite a statement. But truthfully, I asked because you have been insufferable about this whole Mark and Donghyuck thing. So, you can thank me for handling the situation.”

Jungwoo made eye contact with Xiaojun and sighed. The tension rising in Lucas was clearer than day and it didn’t seem like Hendery was stopping any time soon.

“Donghyuck and Mark aren’t dating. Actually, Mark isn’t dating anyone, because he’s too caught up on  _ someone _ else,” Xiaojun finally cut in before this could escalate any further.

“Hey! I wanted to tell him!” Hendery yelled.

“You were taking too long!” Xiaojun threw back.

Lucas just sat there silently for a moment, still twisted around in the chair from looking back at Xiaojun as though he was frozen. A blank look settled across his face as he processed what he had just been told. Slowly but surely his eyebrows rose up and a small smile on his lips grew bigger and bigger.

“It’s not stupid of me to assume that someone is me?” Lucas asked, voice small.

“It’s stupid of you to assume that someone  _ isn’t _ you,” Jungwoo cut in.

Jungwoo felt his phone buzz in his hand, he glanced down to see that it was a call from Jaehyun. It was a bit too early for him to be done with his internship for the day. Strange.

“I’ve got to take this, you two can handle that one, right?” He asked gesturing over to Lucas who looked like he wanted to laugh and cry simultaneously.

After confirming his friends would be good, he picked up the phone, the click of his door closing mixed in with a greeting.

Jaehyun didn’t say hi back.

“I got done with work early today, would you be able to come up for dinner.” A pause, and then, “I think we might need to talk.”

***

The fact that Jungwoo hadn’t heard from Jaehyun since he had last seen him on Saturday, spare from a handwritten note and a two word text, made the drive into town a thousand times more anxiety-inducing. Jaehyun said they needed to talk. That was never good. Talk about what exactly? Jungwoo didn’t feel good not having a single clue as to what he was about to walk into.

Or maybe he did know, he felt like he should, but his stress riddled brain wasn’t letting the realization hit. The last few months had been hard for them he knew that at least. But this was only temporary. In a few months Jaehyun would be done with his internship, and in a few more after that Jungwoo would be done with school. Things would smooth themselves out, right? Relationships always had bumpy times.

Jungwoo let his thoughts travel to what came next and the familiar guilt of holding Jaehyun back settled in his stomach. He had no idea what the future held for them, maybe Jaehyun didn’t either.

Why they had to have this conversation in public, Jungwoo didn’t know. He worried that Jaehyun did that for a reason, picked a restaurant they had never been to for a reason. Jungwoo sat in the parking lot for a few minutes too long, making assumptions, before he realized that it was just making him feel even worse.

The sound of his car door slamming closed snapped him back into reality. He was here to meet Jaehyun, his boyfriend, for dinner. They are going to have a conversation, as couples do. That’s all.

The panic that had been threatening to seep in lurched in Jungwoo’s chest upon walking in as he saw the look on Jaehyun’s face as he sat there alone at the table. Jungwoo was half tempted to turn around and leave, running away from whatever Jaehyun was about to say to him.

He took a deep breath and continued forward. He couldn’t run away.

Jaehyun didn’t great him with a bright smile and a hug like normally. Just a tight-lipped smile instead.

“What are you hungry for?” he said in lieu of a greeting.

“Nothing,” Jungwoo responded. “Tell me what it is you want to talk about first, then maybe I’ll feel like eating. But I’m guessing that won’t be the case.”

Jungwoo had never been that upfront with Jaehyun before. But he was scared and wanted this whole experience to be over as soon as possible. Even above that though, he was emotionally exhausted from the ups and downs of the last few months. 

Jaehyun stared at him with an unreadable expression. Jungwoo did his best to stare right back, trying to stay determined.

“Jungwoo… I-“ he sighed, trying his best to continue. “What would you say if I got a job on the other side of the country?”

Jungwoo blinked, but yet was quick to answer. “I would say go for it.”

“Would you come with me?”

That question was a bit harder, one that Jungwoo wasn’t sure he had an answer for.

This time it felt like forever until Jungwoo responded. “I don’t know…” But maybe he did know. “I don’t know… if I would.”

Jaehyun’s face hardened and the grip he had on the water glass in front of him was rather concerning. His knuckles were white with how hard he was squeezing it and Jungwoo feared it would shatter at any moment.

“So what? We would have a long distance relationship? You’re barely twenty minutes away right now and I never get to see you!”

“And who’s fault is that.”

Jungwoo couldn’t believe he let something like that slip, and apparently neither did Jaehyun as his eyes widened in surprise.

“Really Jungwoo? The only reason why I’m still at that internship is because it’s close to you. I feel like being there is slowly sucking the life out of me, but I’m staying because of you.”

Jungwoo froze. Jaehyun had just confirmed his biggest fear. Jaehyun was making sacrifices on his behalf. He felt sick.

“I never asked you to do that. I chose to live on campus again this year so you could have more opportunities than what’s here. The last thing I  _ ever _ wanted for you was to feel tied down by me.”

“You’re supposed to make sacrifices for the people you love.”

“Not if the sacrifices leave us both miserable.”

Jaehyun seemed to be at a loss for words. He stared at Jungwoo for a while, maybe waiting for him to say something more, maybe processing what had just been said, Jungwoo didn’t know.

“I think we need to take a break.”

“I think so too.”

And for some reason agreeing was easy.

  
  
  



	4. Ramen, a bagel, and a scheme.

The drive back to campus was held in complete silence. Jungwoo didn’t dare touch his phone, too scared that Jaehyun had changed his mind. Or that he hadn’t. Frankly, he just didn’t want to hear from him at all.

But not touching his phone meant no music to distract him from his thoughts.

It was late by the time he got home, he was certain that no one would be awake in the apartment. And he was right. The problem now was that he was absolutely starving. In retrospect, he should have picked up some food on his way back, but the only thing that had been going through his mind was how badly he wanted to get home.

He flicked on the kitchen light, wincing at the sudden brightness, and started digging around through the pantry looking for  _ something _ he could quickly eat. How was it that this was an apartment full of four college kids and there was no ramen to be seen?

“Could you be any louder?”

Jungwoo jumped at the sound of Lucas’ voice.

“Did I wake you up?” Jungwoo asked sheepishly.

“Why are you digging around for food? Didn’t you go out to dinner with Jaehyun?” Lucas responded, choosing to ignore Jungwoo’s question.

Jungwoo’s stomach flipped. “Uh… about that.” And for the first time since things went down, Jungwoo felt like crying.

He knew it must have shown on his face because the next thing he knew Lucas was enveloping him in a hug.

“If you’re looking for ramen, I have a bunch hidden in my room. I’ll let you borrow one,” Lucas joked.

Jungwoo laughed but it sounded watery. “Why are you even keeping them hidden?” he dared to ask.

“For this exact reason. One of you coming in here and eating it all up! I paid good money for my ramen collection I want it to be there when I’m hungry!”

Jungwoo chuckled more steadily this time, Lucas always found a way to make Jungwoo feel better.

“You’re really going to let me have one of your precious ramen packs?” Jungwoo asked, finally dislodging himself from Lucas’ vice-like hug.

“I believe I said ‘borrow.’”

They didn’t end up talking about it, not until Jungwoo had finished every last noodle in the bowl.

“I think Jaehyun and I broke up.”

Jungwoo couldn’t raise his eyes up from the empty bowl, he didn’t want to see the pity on Lucas’ face.

“I guess it’s my turn to pass you the ice cream,” Lucas said, clearing Jungwoo’s bowl from the table. And when Jungwoo finally looked up the only thing on Lucas’ face was a small smile.

It only took one scoop of ice cream and cuddling with his best friend to send Jungwoo into a dreamless sleep.

***

Waking up to the blaring of his alarm reminded Jungwoo that he had to be up and ready for class within the hour. Why couldn’t Jaehyun have broken up with him on a Friday so he could proceed to sleep the following day away?

But no, Jaehyun broke up with him on a Monday of all days which meant he had to make it through the entire rest of the week.

“Turn that shit off,” mumbled a tired Lucas from the other side of the bed reminding Jungwoo of where he was.

Jungwoo quickly scrambled out of bed as to not disrupt Lucas’ precious sleep any longer. But for some reason that seemed to make him even more frustrated.

“Where the hell are you going?” Lucas said, now fully sat up, long strands of hair pointing out in seemingly every direction.

“Uh… class.”

“Really? You’re really going to class right now?”

Jungwoo huffed. “I’m not like you Lucas, I can’t skip class and be fine.”

“You’re literally in college Jungwoo, you’re meant to be skipping class.”

Jungwoo rolled his eyes making sure to slam the door a bit on his way out. Jungwoo hated missing class, he never liked feeling like he had missed something important. Lucas couldn’t understand that because he was the fly by the seat of his pants and still get an A type of student. Jungwoo couldn’t live like that.

Plus, he knew if he just sat home all-day moping about it, he would feel even worse. So as much as it sucked to leave a warm bed, he knew it would be for the best.

But instead of skipping today, he would splurge.

Hendery was already awake when Jungwoo walked out into the kitchen.

“Let go of that cereal box, I’m taking you to breakfast so you better hurry up and get ready.”

Hendery just blinked at him, clearly still not completely awake. But Jungwoo didn’t wait for a conformation, he had to get ready in time too.

Jungwoo ended up dragging them to a café that was close enough to both of their classes they would be able to make it on time.

“What is this about anyway?” Hendery asked after being handed his muffin from over the counter.

Jungwoo sighed, he was hoping on being able to get a few bites into his bagel before having to answer that.

“Jaehyun and I are… taking a break.”

Jungwoo knew that Lucas would never believe the “break” excuse. Hell, Jungwoo didn’t even believe it. But it was a little easier to word it like that, and he had faith that Hendery wouldn’t push the topic.

Hendery’s face fell. “Oh damn… I should have been the one taking you out to breakfast.”

“Naw it’s okay, you tagging along is enough,” Jungwoo said a small but genuine smile settling over his lips.

“Next time. Definitely.”

Jungwoo laughed at Hendery’s determination, and also his choice of words. Jungwoo knew he meant the next time they go out for breakfast, but it sure did sound like he meant the next time he got dumped.

“Well, I sure hope that’s not anytime soon!” Jungwoo joked.

“Huh?” Hendery gave him a confused look before his eye became the size of saucers. “Oh my god it’s Mark, should we go over there?”

Jungwoo started to turn around before Hendery slapped him on the arm.

“Dude stop! He’ll notice us.”

“I thought you said you wanted to go over there? Which I personally think is a terrible idea by the way.”

“He’s all alone that’s why! The perfect opportunity to talk him into texting Lucas now that we know he’s still into him.” A mischievous smile settled over Hendery’s face and Jungwoo did not like the look of it.

“You really want to try to set the two star crossed lovers back up knowing it will end in heartbreak once again? Not to mention this whole idea of yours seems a bit... predatory.”

“We’ve hung out with Mark enough that he’s practically our friend, it will be fine. And yes, excuse you, they were literally meant for each other. Despite the fact that like… they’re both terrible communicators. But like, they can work on that!”

Hendery lightly clapped his hands together symbolizing the end of the conversation. He didn’t need to hear another one of Jungwoo’s rebuttals. Scooping up his things he sent a blinding smile to Jungwoo before taking off in Mark’s direction.

Jungwoo sighed before finally giving in. There was no way things would go down well without him.

“Hey, Mark!” Hendery chirped. “Can we sit with you?”

“Uh… I- okay,” Mark said tipping over his water bottle in the process of clearing out space for them to sit.

Mark was very much like Donghyuck in the sense that they had this adorable charm about them. Mark’s charm bordered more on the awkward clumsy side, but still adorable all the same.

“A little birdy told me something the other day…”

Oh my god, he was really just jumping right in. Jungwoo held back the intense urge to slam his head on the table, or Hendery’s. 

“Huh?” Mark’s voice broke and his face seemed to go completely white like a ghost before quickly turning beet red. 

“Don’t listen to him Mark,” Jungwoo said before sending Hendery the most threatening look he could muster up.

“Oh no please do listen to me. We all know that Lucas is still completely hung up on you, and now…”

Jungwoo held his breath.

“Well, now we know that you’re just as whipped.”

Mark sighed, and Jungwoo watched him wilt. “Donghyuck said you two had a class together,” Mark’s eyes flickering up to Jungwoo. “But I didn’t think he would be that quick to open his mouth to my ex’s best friend.”

“Actually,  _ friends _ .” Hendery responded enunciating the ‘s’.

Mark’s new shade turned from red to a bit green.

“Don’t look at me,” Jungwoo said. “I tried to stop him from coming over here.”

“Does he know?” Mark asked carefully.

“Pretty much.” Hendery shrugged, dropping the mischievous smile. “We just want you two to be happy. If you don’t want the extra push, we will leave you two be,” he added.

Mark groaned, burying his face in his hands. “God, we might need it.”

***

Worrying about someone else’s relationship surprisingly distracted Jungwoo enough from his own. Or rather, lack thereof. And somehow, he just happened to make it through the rest of the day.

The challenge was going to be making it through the rest of the week.

In all honesty, things weren’t that different than they had been. Jaehyun, being as busy as he was, usually only sent him a good morning and goodnight text and then they would see each other on the weekends. So, during the week he was only faced with an empty phone, the real test came with the weekend.

Something told Jungwoo that he had to feel different, that he had to feel sad or mopey. And in some ways he did. Jaehyun had been a constant in his life throughout all of university, and now he wasn’t. He couldn’t be someone to lean on when things got too stressful, nor would he be a hand to hold through the endless assignments.

Jaehyun was no longer his boyfriend. He couldn’t call him or hold him. He was by himself.

But he knew this was coming. Maybe not the breakup, but the change in their relationship. Once Jaehyun was done with school, Jungwoo knew he would be on his own. And he had been preparing for that. Actually, he had been practicing it for months now.

He knew he would be fine eventually. He just needed to find enough distractions to get him there. And surprisingly enough, there was one waiting for him just around the corner.

Donghyuck hadn’t been to class that Wednesday, and maybe that was a good thing, as when he showed up Friday morning he had a smile on his face that Jungwoo knew only would lead to trouble.

“Send me your notes from last class?” he asked as he took a seat, just barely making it in before the professor.

Jungwoo lowered his voice to a whisper. “What’s your excuse? I’m not going to just hand my notes over that easy.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “Work emergency, gimme.”

Jungwoo squinted at him, unsure if he believed him. Yet he took his phone out anyway. He had already snapped pictures of the notes for this very moment so all he had to do was send them on their way.

Donghyuck raised his eyebrows, but smiled, nonetheless.

The rest of the class went by silently, and Jungwoo thought that all Donghyuck wanted must have been his notes.

But he was very wrong. In hindsight, he should have seen this coming.

“Mark told me you guys cornered him the other day,” Donghyuck said as he packed up his things.

Jungwoo groaned. “Look, I was just there to make sure Hendery didn’t go too far off the rails okay. There was no stopping that one, please don’t include me.”

“But you were there, so…” Donghyuck said, clearly knowing he won.

“Fine. Then tell him I’m sorry for that. I would say  _ we _ are sorry, but I can guarantee that Hendery is the furthest from sorry one could be.”

Donghyuck scoffed. “So anyway… I have a plan to set them back up.”

Jungwoo really didn’t want to ask. “Great, you’re as bad as them.”

“Oh no, I’m defiantly worse than them.”

“You really want to see them back together? I mean I got to witness what their many breakups did to Lucas, I can’t even imagine what they did to Mark.”

“Yeah, but it’s just as bad seeing Mark sit around moping all day about someone who he could easily get back with so, it’s probably worth it even if they do end up breaking up again.”

Turns out everyone Jungwoo knew was trying to get Lucas and Mark back together, so it was looking even more impossible to stay out of it.

Jungwoo sighed. A distraction, he needed a distraction, and while this one wasn’t ideal, it was something.


	5. Incessant friends, incessant math, and an invite to movie night.

Donghyuck said he needed more time to “scheme” before he would be able to let Jungwoo or any of them privy to his plan. And Jungwoo should have waited to tell Hendery and Xiaojun that Donghyuck was in on the whole ordeal until after he had it all figured out because they were incessant. Curiosity clearly being too much for them, they demanded to tag along the following day.

“You do realize Donghyuck and I actually have work to be doing?” Jungwoo said tugging on his backpack. “What are you guys going to do with yourselves then?”

“We will leave, duh,” Xiaojun responded.

“You guys are literally following me all the way to the library just to hear what Donghyuck has to say and then turning around and walking all the way back home? When you can just wait for me to get home and tell you. What if he doesn’t have everything figured out?” Jungwoo pressed.

“Does it look like we have anything else better to do?” added Hendery.

“Apparently not.”

Like always Donghyuck was slightly late, leaving Jungwoo stuck with his two antsy roommates. They literally wouldn’t sit still.

As soon as they spotted Donghyuck, is fluffy orange hair bouncing slightly as he strode in, the excitement was only turned up.

“So, what’s the plan?” Hendery shouted, quickly getting hushed by a girl a few tables away.

“They followed me here,” Jungwoo said an apologetic look in his eyes. “I promise they’re leaving as soon as they squeeze some kind of information from you.”

Donghyuck just stood up a little taller, blinding smile on display. “Well, since you are all here…” he teased.

Xiaojun and Hendery’s eyes were wide with excitement as Jungwoo simply sat there with light amusement on his face.

“Okay, so I may have gotten us all invited to this party…” Donghyuck started.

“Are you really sure a party is the best way to go about this?” Jungwoo cut in.

“You didn’t let me finish!” Donghyuck mused, not beginning again until Jungwoo sighed. “No matter how in love they both are, neither of them are going to agree to go somewhere the other might be going. So that’s where we come in,” Donghyuck said pointing a finger between himself and Jungwoo. “We know each other, right?”

Jungwoo didn’t like the look he got in his eye when he said that. And as he explained his plan to the three of them, Jungwoo’s face became more and more concerned.

“That’s wild, yet simple enough it might just work,” Xiaojun exclaimed after Donghyuck had finished his short rant.

“Okay but, Halloween is weeks away,” Jungwoo deadpanned not at all convinced.

“Which is perfect! Don’t you think things would be a little too obvious if we tried to force them together right now? Let them have some time to reflect, away from each other so hopefully by the time they reunite they won’t make the same mistakes they did last year.”

Jungwoo thought for a moment, Donghyuck did have a point. He usually did, actually. Despite his mischievous and sassy nature, Donghyuck was a very bright person, even beyond the classroom Jungwoo was finding out.

“Six weeks is nothing, I hardly think they are going to change their minds about each other in that time,” Donghyuck added as further reassurance.

“Fine,” Jungwoo sighed. “I guess we got to start thinking costumes,” he chuckled.

“Yeah especially one we can talk both Lucas and Mark into wearing,” Xiaojun added before standing up and dragging and overly excited Hendery with him.

“Have fun studying!” Hendery whisper shouted.

***

Studying wasn’t fun, especially when it felt like Donghyuck was miles ahead of him in understanding.

“I promise in like a week or so I’ll be just as confused as you,” Donghyuck said sensing Jungwoo’s frustration at his quick pace through the worksheet.

“I’m not sure that makes me feel better or worse.”

Jungwoo loved math, it always came easy to him–numbers were safe and reliable. His favorite part was being able to help his peers study, when people came up to him with questions he felt confident about answering always feeling like he had a decent grip on the subject matter.

But statistics was a whole other ballpark for him. He knew it was his weak point as he had taken it in high school, but he was decent enough. Yet for the first time in his academic career, or at least in Math related subjects, he was the one asking for help.

He knew that statistics was Donghyuck’s specialty, and for that he was grateful. He tried to keep that in mind, the fact that Donghyuck was supposed to be better at it than him. But comparing his answers to Donghyuck and getting some wrong still hurt his pride a little.

“Hey, it’s kind of late,” Donghyuck said snapping Jungwoo out of his thoughts. “Don’t you have to meet up with your big scary boyfriend or something?” 

Jungwoo wanted to laugh, he really did. It was a hilarious way to describe Jaehyun. Maybe he was big to Donghyuck, but Jungwoo was taller than Jaehyun on a good day. And scary? Jaehyun was the furthest thing from scary anyone could be.

But what let the laugh fizzle out in Jungwoo’s throat before it even got the chance to come out was the word boyfriend. Another thing Jaehyun was not.

“No, he’s… not,” Jungwoo paused, “coming. Nor is he my boyfriend anymore.”

“What?” Donghyuck’s eyes got as big as saucers. “You guys broke up?”

Jungwoo gave him a weak smile in return. “Things just didn’t work out with our schedules, I guess you could say. Things kind of became too stressful and neither of us had the energy to keep trying. So, I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

Donghyuck’s face fell, dramatically. “Oh god, I’m so sorry. I should have cleared some time for us to study during the week or something. I just kinda am juggling a work study and tutoring and am stupidly taking 20 credits so it’s a lot, the only free time I have is on the weekends. But I feel really bad, you told me you couldn’t do weekends and yet I wasn’t flexible at all with you.”

Jungwoo sat there slightly stunned. He had never seen Donghyuck that nervous, continuously rambling on.

“You’re taking 20 credits?” Jungwoo asked because he needed to change the subject. It slowly occurred to him that he just told Donghyuck more about his breakup than he had any of his friends. Also, it was clear that Donghyuck felt guilty and Jungwoo didn’t like the feeling it gave him to be the reason for Donghyuck’s distress. Not to mention… he was more than curious. “Don’t you have to get special permission to do that?”

“Oh…” Donghyuck said letting his words fizz out upon the realization that Jungwoo was trying to change the subject. “Yeah, I did, I’m trying to graduate this May…”

“What really? You’re barely 19!” Jungwoo said, clearly astonished.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I’m trying.”

“How? How is that even possible?”

The idea of graduating early terrified Jungwoo, especially thinking back to where he was the end of his sophomore year in university. He couldn’t imagine Donghyuck being ready to go out into the real world already.

“I got my associate's degree in high school, seems crazy but I just went to a special high school. Aka one where all you did was go to traditional classes. So like, no sports or cooking classes or anything like that,” Donghyuck responded like it was the most nonchalant thing in the world.

“Oh god, wait. You really are some kind of genius!”

“No, I promise it’s not like that, its more like I’m a nerd, not a genius,” Donghyuck shrugged. “Honestly, I usually don’t like telling people that because it gives them this idea that I’m some amazingly smart student, when like really I’m struggling just as much as the rest of them. Then when people figure out I’m not as great as they think I am they end up disappointed in me, and that’s like the worst feeling in the world.”

This was the first time that Jungwoo had ever seen Donghyuck open up like this, be vulnerable in front of him. He wondered if this was a special moment, or if he was going to get to see more of this side of Donghyuck the more he got to know him.

“I’m sorry I said that then.” Jungwoo did his best to give him a reassuring smile, looks of pity far from his face as he assumed Donghyuck wouldn’t appreciate them.

“Naw it’s okay, I like to be called smart just don’t get your hopes up too high.” Donghyuck returned the smile.

“So, Mr. Smarty Pants, should we finish this thing so we can go home?” Jungwoo asked pointing towards the last few equations they had to work through.

Donghyuck hummed. “Okay, but I raise you: finish this, food, then home.”

“Deal,” Jungwoo said feeling he met a new Donghyuck that day.

***

Dinner with Donghyuck consisted of them both scarfing down burgers. They had been studying for quite a while so by the time they both got some food it was gone within seconds.

“Sorry, you probably could get this stuff done much faster on your own,” Jungwoo said after taking a long sip from his soda.

Donghyuck shrugged. “Well, we are kind of being forced to do group work so I don’t really have a choice. Plus, going over things with someone else really helps me understand the material better so don’t feel bad about it.”

Jungwoo was pretty sure Donghyuck didn’t need that extra understanding, but he smiled at his attempt to make Jungwoo feel better.

Suddenly his phone was ringing.

“Hey, are you still studying?” Lucas’ voice said through the phone. “I sent you like a billion texts.”

“No, we just finished actually. We’re just grabbing a bite to eat.”

“Donghyuck is still with you?”

Jungwoo rolled his eyes. “Yes. What do you need anyway?”

“We are having an impromptu movie night, so since you’re done hurry up and come home. And bring Donghyuck,” Lucas demanded.

Jungwoo sighed, eyes wandering back toward Donghyuck. “I’ll ask him,” he said hanging up the phone.

Jungwoo was unsure if he wanted Lucas and Donghyuck in the same room this soon, his memory still fresh from the last time they were together. But if Donghyuck was okay with it then it should be fine.

“Ask me what?” he asked eyebrows raised and cheeks still full of hamburger.

“We are having a movie night at our apartment; you’re invited if you want to come.”

Donghyuck though a moment, giving himself time to finish his food. “What movie?”

“Not sure, they probably will wait until I get there to decide,” Jungwoo said, beginning to pack up his things.

Donghyuck glanced at the time on his phone. “Eh, why not I guess.”

The coolness that the beginning of fall brought nipped at their skin on the walk over to Jungwoo’s apartment. The silence the late evening brought was filled with idle chatter about class and oblivious friends.

“Lucas will most definitely bombard you with questions about Mark as soon as you walk in the door, just letting you know,” Jungwoo warned as they got closer to their destination.

“I kind of figured that and while I won't lie, it is really annoying, it’s also fun to tease him so I’m sure it will be fine.” Donghyuck shrugged. “Plus we need to keep them on each other’s minds until the party so just think of it as the first step of the plan.”

Jungwoo laughed as he dug for his key to the building.

“Do you live on campus?” Jungwoo asked, just now realizing Donghyuck would need to get back home at some point.

“Yeah, Mark and I share a dorm this year on the Northside of campus.”

Jungwoo furrowed his brow as he looked over at Donghyuck who was walking slightly behind him. “That’s literally the opposite side of campus, I’ll totally give you a ride home,” he said matter of factly.

“No that’s really okay, thanks for the offer though!”

“It’s not an offer, I will be driving you home. By the time this movie gets done it will be even darker and even colder out, I’m not going to make you walk all the way home.”

Just before Jungwoo turned to open the door he caught a look on Donghyuck’s face that made him freeze, if only for a moment. At first, he thought he might have crossed a line demanding something like that, but it was clear the way Donghyuck was looking at him wasn’t from a place of anger. Jungwoo didn’t know how to process the realization that the dusting of pink on Donghyuck’s face wasn’t from the cold.

So instead he chose to ignore it as he pushed into the door.


	6. A forgotten jacket, awkward conversations, and an exciting change.

Movie night ended up going much smoother than Jungwoo had anticipated. After Lucas’ initial questioning, things seemed to settle down. Especially due to the fact that Donghyuck was actually down to answer his questions for once.

They ended up watching some cheesy horror movie that Jungwoo had never heard of. Xiaojun ended up having to leave 30 minutes in, claiming he couldn’t handle it. But it seemed right up Donghyuck’s ally as he spent the majority of the movie with his head thrown back in laughter as if they were watching some really great comedy instead.

Hendery and Lucas had seemingly fallen asleep somewhere towards the end, making leaving the apartment afterword to take Donghyuck home a bit tricky.

“Should we just wake them up?” Donghyuck whispered. “They would probably rather be in their own beds anyway.”

“Naw, I think I would feel bad, look at how cute they are sleeping like that,” Jungwoo cooed.

Donghyuck did his best to hold back a chuckle.

“Alright, come on I’ll drive you home,” Jungwoo said quietly walking into his room to quickly grab his keys and wallet.

“It’s really okay, I’ll be fine walking home. It’s really not that far,” he responded while collecting his things as well.

“Nope sorry! You have no say in the matter. If you ended up getting a cold or worse, getting kidnapped or something, I would take that to the grave I would feel so guilty.”

Donghyuck gave Jungwoo another one of his bright laughs slightly muffled behind the fabric of his jacket as he tried to stay quiet. “You’re so dramatic,” he added.

“Thank you!”

Jungwoo managed to corral Donghyuck into his car and even got the directions out of him.

“What made you change your mind about Lucas anyway? You seemed to not want one thing to do with him at the beginning of the semester,” Jungwoo asked after they got out of the parking lot, referring to the party the night of move in.

“I never changed my mind really,” Donghyuck started as he messed with the air vents. “I just knew that they needed to actually talk, sober. And that night they were both far from sober.”

“Well, you ended up leading Lucas to believe you were dating Mark, frankly all of us kind of thought that.”

“Okay, but I cleared that up! Like I said, Mark is a gross hopeless romantic and frankly, he and Lucas deserve each other.”

Jungwoo chuckled as he watched Donghyuck struggle to get comfortable, “Warmer or colder?”

Jungwoo turned his head just in time to see Donghyuck’s face flush. “Colder… maybe.”

He was left with conflicting emotions once again, but this time there was nothing to distract him except the quiet that settled over the car. He always thought Donghyuck was adorable, he just had that air to him. Almost as if he was a kitten or a puppy, no matter what they did it was cute. But now, every time Donghyuck’s face would color Jungwoo didn’t want to coo or pinch his cheeks. He wanted to do more. Like thread their fingers together and pepper him with kisses.

And frankly, Jungwoo didn’t know what to do with this newfound information.

He had always been one for physical affection, all his friends knew this. Jungwoo would be someone who hung off of his favorite people, always needing to touch them, hug them, insert himself into their beds on nights he was feeling especially cuddly.

So, it really wasn’t new for him to feel this way towards a friend. But yet, he felt like it was. Like Donghyuck was off limits, like he wasn’t allowed to touch him.

Technically, Jungwoo didn’t really know if that was something that Donghyuck was okay with. But after seeing him all over Mark, who is just a friend mind you, at the party, Jungwoo felt like it wouldn’t be something he would be against.

And before he could stop himself, he was asking. “Hey, are you okay with physical affection? Like, is it okay if I touch you? Because I tend to be quite a touchy person and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Jungwoo had at least enough sense not to turn his head to look at Donghyuck, in fear of what story his face would tell. 

The silence that followed was deafening. “I- um… me too. I’m pretty touchy too, I mean. So, it’s probably fine.”

Jungwoo pulled up to what he presumed to be Donghyuck’s building given the directions he had given him. Now finally having the opportunity, he fully looked over at Donghyuck. “Probably?” Jungwoo had no idea what that meant.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck said, his voice a pitch or two higher than normal. “Well, thanks for the ride! I’ll see you on Monday!” He was quick to scurry out of the car.

Jungwoo was half tempted to reach back out to him, in that moment he wanted nothing more than reach out for Donghyuck’s hand and have him clarify what that was all about. But he didn’t. It clearly wasn’t the right time for either of them.

Amidst the confusion, neither of them had noticed that Donghyuck had left his jacket in Jungwoo’s car. Jungwoo only realizing once he pulled back into his parking spot at the apartment vowing to return it in class on Monday.

***

The jacket was hung over his arm as he walked into the apartment, surprised to see Lucas still up, sitting at the kitchen counter seemingly waiting for him to get back. 

“Do you have feelings for Donghyuck?”

Jungwoo stood in the doorway unmoving as he processed Lucas’ question. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around what he had just heard before Lucas was speaking again.

“You just seemed… different around him,” he added, much more carefully.

Jungwoo opened and closed his mouth a few times before he could will an answer to come out. “I- Of course I  _ like _ Donghyuck, but I don’t know about all that…” Jungwoo paused, looking anywhere but Lucas’ face. “He’s cute yeah, but so are you.” He shrugged finally unfreezing from where he stopped in the doorway.

Lucas sighed. “Yeah but I’m your friend. You don’t look at him like he’s your friend.”

Jungwoo furrowed his brow. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Look. I just want you to be careful, it hasn’t even been a week since… you guys broke up. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself even more and drag Donghyuck down with you.”

This candidness from Lucas was rare, it meant he was serious. Usually, when he got like this Jungwoo would head the warning, but this time it strangely bothered him.

“Oh really? Because five minutes ago you only cared about Donghyuck if he was giving you information about Mark.” He could feel the irritation bubble in his chest, he knew he needed to remove himself from the situation before he said something he really regretted. “I’m tired okay. Let’s just talk about this later.”

Lucas nodded, holding his tongue from saying anything more as they both made their way to their respective rooms. But Jungwoo was far from tired, especially after that conversation. He hated that Lucas felt the need to bring that up as he himself really didn’t know what was going on, nor was he anywhere ready to figure that out. Lucas was right about things with Jaehyun still being fresh, but he was wrong to think he would use Donghyuck as some sort of rebound.

Sleep evaded him as his mind ran through what happened with Donghyuck and Lucas that day. Did he have feelings for Donghyuck? He didn’t know. But what he did know was that he wanted to continue spending time with him, nothing more nothing less. And for now, that realization let Jungwoo drift asleep.

Upon waking he knew he needed to apologize to Lucas as soon as possible. Maybe Lucas was out of line when bringing all that up, but Jungwoo knew he was just looking out for him. They were best friends after all.

It was Sunday so Jungwoo knew he wouldn’t be awake until noon, at the very earliest. So when Jungwoo saw him sitting at the kitchen table at 9 AM he knew he wasn’t the only one feeling guilty.

“Hey,” Jungwoo said after making eye contact with his friend.

“Hey.”

Jungwoo walked over and took a seat next to Lucas. “I’m sorry for snapping at you last night. I know you were just trying to look out for me. Thank you for that. And honestly, I really don’t know how I feel, and I don’t think I want to figure that out quite yet.”

Lucas looked away, seemingly not liking Jungwoo’s response. “It’s fine, I know it’s a touchy subject I just wanted to make sure you were handling it.”

Lucas didn’t seem too happy, and Jungwoo was unsure what exactly he was supposed to be handling. “I’m sorry,” he started again. “I just don’t think I’ve got my mind wrapped around what’s been happening lately, I’m consistently unsure what the right thing is to do. I’m sorry if you’re mad at me.”

Lucas finally looked back over at him. “I’m not mad, maybe frustrated. But I’ve only got an outside perspective so what do I know,” he chuckled clearly trying to bring the mood back up. “But I really think you should figure some things out sooner than later.”

Lucas seemed oddly adamant about this Donghyuck thing and it left Jungwoo with a lingering strange feeling as the day went on. Jungwoo was left hardly able to focus on the things he actually needed to take care of that day. The next thing he knew, the sun was setting.

***

Come Monday his feelings weren’t the only thing that was a mess.

“Wasn’t it your turn to get groceries?” Hendery asked as he riffled through the pantry in an attempt to find something for breakfast.

“I forgot,” Jungwoo answered sheepishly. “I’m planning on going first thing after class today. We might have some pancake batter if you’re cool with waiting a minute or two for me to cook them.”

Hendery quickly sat down at the barstools looking into the kitchen. “That sounds a thousand times better than the cereal I was planning on eating.”

It turned out that they had no maple syrup, but a little butter and powdered sugar did the trick. And as happy Jungwoo was to have food in his stomach, that didn’t stop if from gurgling anxiously at the fact he was about to see Donghyuck. He was glad having to actually cook breakfast made him slightly less early than normal. The less time he had to nervously sit there and wait for Donghyuck to show up the better.

Jungwoo hated that he was anxious. He was fine when he had talked to Donghyuck last, when he had asked if it was okay to be touchy with him. He was even fine after all the awkward confusion that situation prompted! But Lucas just had to bring up the topic of “feelings” and Jungwoo couldn’t keep it together.

Jungwoo’s eyes snapped up at every person who walked into the room even though he knew that Donghyuck wouldn’t show up until the last possible minute. And as soon as the clock struck 9:30 he walked in the door.

Jungwoo’s eyes grew wide as he saw him instantly remembering what he had forgotten.

“Oh my god, I forgot your jacket,” Jungwoo deadpanned upon seeing a shivering Donghyuck only covered in a light sweatshirt, sans his iconic leather jacket. Of course, this morning had to be a chilly one.

“Ah, so I did leave it with you! I thought about shooting you a text this morning when I couldn’t find it but I wasn’t sure when your first class was, so I didn’t want to wake you,” he said promptly taking his seat next to Jungwoo.

“That’s sweet,” he said, a light blush settling over his cheeks. “But I wish you would have said something because then I would have been able to grab it for you.”

Donghyuck pulled out his notebook and eyed the professor who had just walked in. “It’s cool, I’ll just come by after class before work starts,” he whispered. “That might be cutting it close though… maybe I’ll just get it after work,” he thought out loud. “If that’s cool with you.”

Jungwoo thought for a moment, it was already pretty chilly out and it would just get colder tonight. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Donghyuck walking around without a jacket.

“I have some errands to run later, so how about I just drop it off to you at work after I get done?” Jungwoo proposed.

“You really don’t have to but if you’re going to be out,” Donghyuck shrugged.

But before Jungwoo could ask where Donghyuck worked, the professor shot them both a look that clearly screamed shut up. Jungwoo ended up finding out later after class was over that he did his work study as a receptionist in the math department.

“I work there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and then tutor on Tuesday and Thursday after class.”

“You seriously weren’t kidding when you said your weekdays were busy…”

Jungwoo recalled their conversation where he learned Donghyuck had two jobs and was taking a bunch of extra credits as he bid him farewell. It really hadn’t clicked how busy he was until hearing his actual schedule. 

“See you later!”

Later turned into quite late, and Jungwoo was worried that he wouldn’t even catch Donghyuck still at work. He shot him a quick text and took him not replying as a good sign. He rushed into the building, Donghyuck’s jacket tucked under his arm. He was thankful to see Donghyuck still behind the receptionist's desk.

“Sorry for showing up so late!” Jungwoo managed to pant out.

Donghyuck looked up from whatever he was doing behind the counter, smiling when his eyes landed on Jungwoo. “It’s fine, I’m here for another hour anyway,” he shrugged.

Jungwoo shot a glance at the clock hung up behind Donghyuck’s head. It was already almost 7 PM. “When do you have any time to do school work?”

“If you think this is bad you should visit me tomorrow when I tutor, I’m usually out later than 8 PM! Plus, I don’t get to do my own homework while I’m tutoring,” Donghyuck chuckled. “But yeah I do most of my classwork on the weekends and then squeeze in the things that come up during the week when I can.”

“Your schedule is absolutely insane,” Jungwoo said, taken aback.

“You’re totally right. But, thanks for dropping off my jacket. I feel bad for making you go out of your way, but it really helped me out. Thanks again, really.”

The warm smile Donghyuck gave him melted any residual cold that still hung on Jungwoo from his time outside. “It was no problem at all,” Jungwoo breathed out, returning a similar smile.

“I’ll try not to forget it next time.”

_ Next time. _

Jungwoo liked the thought of there being another time they hung out outside of the library.

“Oh hey, before you go. I was wondering if you wanted to change up our study location,” Donghyuck proposed. “The library can get kind of stuffy, so I thought we could mix it up! We could go to a café or something, or you are more than welcome to come over to mine if you would rather work somewhere quieter.”

Jungwoo blinked, the prospect of visiting Donghyuck’s dorm made his heart skip a beat. “Wherever’s fine,” Jungwoo lied, knowing the location he would prefer.

“It will probably be easier going to mine if that’s cool with you?”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Jungwoo squeaked out.

Even as Jungwoo turned the key to his apartment he could still feel his heart racing. Lucas might be right, he really needed to figure himself out, and fast.


	7. Tests, stress, and awareness.

The week flew by as the semester was now in full swing, first tests about to happen or happening that week. Fall break was only a few weeks away so professors wanted to make sure some sort of assessment was done before then.

Jungwoo knew he was stressed, so he couldn’t even imagine how stressed Donghyuck was knowing how much he had to juggle. He didn’t look it though. By Friday Jungwoo was exhausted, but Donghyuck was still his cheery and chipper self. Jungwoo didn’t know how he did it. At least he was glad to know that Donghyuck was keeping it together to some degree. The same couldn’t be said about himself.

He didn’t like the route his mind was going to try to figure out his feelings towards Donghyuck. Things were still fresh from his break up with Jaehyun, so this whole Donghyuck thing made him feel somewhat guilty. Not only that, but it was taking up too much space in his head, he had other things to worry about. The most important being school. By the time it came to be Saturday once again, Jungwoo knew he was going to need Donghyuck’s help with stats more than ever, which did very little to calm his nerves.

Jungwoo knew fall was upon them as the cool air from earlier in the week was still hanging on. It didn’t help that the clouds were overcast, hiding the extra warmth from the sun. Jungwoo pulled his jacket tighter around him as he couldn’t place whether his shaking was from being cold or being nervous. He had driven to Donghyuck’s, that way he wouldn’t be forced to walk home in the cold, but Donghyuck seemed to be living on the top floor as it took ages for him to come down and let Jungwoo in.

“Sorry to keep you out in the cold! I wasn’t finished tidying up,” Donghyuck said sheepishly as he held the door open for Jungwoo.

“You’re fine, but you really didn’t need to clean up for just me.”

“I live with Mark Lee, I needed to clean up,” he deadpanned.

Jungwoo chuckled in response and followed the younger towards the staircase.

“I would offer to take the elevator but I’m pretty sure it’s haunted and or will break halfway up, so we are stuck taking the stairs.”

Turns out Donghyuck didn’t live on the top floor, but he was pretty close to it. Jungwoo was well out of breath after climbing 7 stories. It was a simple dorm just enough for two people. There was a doorway leading into a common area with a kitchen and a few bathrooms attached, as well as what Jungwoo assumed to be another bedroom.

“Welcome to my humble abode!” Donghyuck said flopping onto his bed. “We only share the common area with two other people so we can totally work out there if you want?” Donghyuck added noticing Jungwoo giving the place a once over.

“Wherever is fine! Do you know them well? The other people you live with?”

“Yeah but they’re… interesting. Don’t get me wrong Yangyang and Renjun are great, but they like to pretend they aren’t dating even though Mark and I clearly saw that they sleep with their beds pushed together so like, each to their own I guess,” Donghyuck shrugged, a light chuckled tainting his voice.

Donghyuck seemed pretty comfortable on his bed so Jungwoo set is stuff down where he stood and took a seat at the desk closest to him, turning the chair to face the bed. “So, are they like dating, but not ready to tell the world, or like dating but they don’t even know it?” Jungwoo asked, liking the distracting topic.

“Oh yeah, they don’t even know they’re dating,” Donghyuck responded finally letting a full laugh escape his lips. “Okay, but enough about my roommates, we’ve got an exam at the end of the week.”

“Please don’t remind me,” Jungwoo groaned. But he knew that’s what he was here for, so he began begrudgingly yanking out his study materials from his bookbag.

“Come sit up here,” Donghyuck said patting the end of his bed. “I don’t want to move,” he whined.

Jungwoo froze, his notebook only halfway out of his bookbag, eyes snapping up at Donghyuck who seemed rather unfazed for what he had just asked. “Oh… okay.”

Jungwoo sat at the end of the bed, back leaned up against the wall, and Donghyuck followed suit shortly after. Jungwoo tensed up as their shoulders brushed, he was always the one to enjoy physical affection, not the one who lost his mind at the slightest touch. He pushed the thought of intertwining his fingers with Donghyuck’s out of his mind, instead choosing to flip through his notes.

“Where should we start?” Jungwoo said.

“Probably from the very beginning, but let’s focus primarily on the newest section.”

Jungwoo nodded, and they jumped into review. He finally had something solid to focus on so he gave it his all. By the time they found themselves nearing the end of their notes, Jungwoo was sure he would ace the test, he had never studied that hard before. Glancing up he noticed the sun was hovering over the horizon.

“It’s getting late, sorry I kept you so long. I know you’ve probably got plenty of other work to get done,” Jungwoo said, feeling a bit guilty.

Donghyuck chose to ignore him, and it took Jungwoo a second to look over holding eye contact with him dumbly waiting for a response.

“I thought you were a touchy person? What was the point of checking with me if you’re never going to lay a finger on me?” Donghyuck said seemingly out of nowhere.

It felt like a challenge it really did. But Jungwoo couldn’t get over how demanding it sounded. He was flustered to say the very least. He felt the heat rise to his face at being called out, but he knew what Donghyuck was hinting at. Without thinking Jungwoo tucked the ends of Donghyuck’s still vibrant orange hair behind his ear, pulling his face closer in the process. Letting his free hand finally reach out for Donghyuck’s hand.

He was going to pull away then, all he really wanted to do was hold his hand, but when Donghyuck inched closer Jungwoo didn’t dare back up.

That is until he heard the door click behind him followed by a confused, “Uh… I’ll come back later.”

Jungwoo just caught the sight of Mark as he retreated out of the room. He hadn’t let go of Donghyuck’s hand but when he turned back around they were no longer inches apart. Donghyuck had sat back leaning against the wall once again, annoyance obvious on his face. And Jungwoo didn’t know what to say.

He awkwardly chuckled to fill some of the silence but didn’t know how to proceed from there. He wanted to say something like, “that was embarrassing” or joke on how compromising that probably looked to his roommate. But he couldn’t bring himself to say either, they didn’t seem like the right things to say.

Jungwoo squeezed Donghyuck’s hand a bit tighter and gave him the warmest smile he could muster, and when he was given a similar one back he had a better idea on how to proceed.

“I don’t want Mark to feel awkward in his own home,” Jungwoo said chuckling, trying to keep the conversation light. “Wanna go grab some food?”

The smile Donghyuck gave him finally reached his eyes, and Jungwoo let out the breath he was holding convinced that he had said the right thing.

“Screw Mark,” Donghyuck said letting Jungwoo’s hand go as he bounced off the bed. “But yes, I am starving!”

***

Dinner had gone relatively well, Jungwoo made an effort to pepper Donghyuck in friendly touches, throwing his arm around him as they walked or standing on his tiptoes to rest his chin on Donghyuck’s head as they waited in line.

They didn’t bring up almost kissing if you could call it that. At least, that’s what Jungwoo assumed was about to happen. And while the awkward air dissipated as soon as they left Donghyuck’s dorm, Jungwoo couldn’t help but linger on the moment.

He felt warm and fuzzy all over, but it was paired with this sense of doom that he couldn’t shake. Every circle he ran with Donghyuck led him back to feeling like it was too soon. If things kept progressing like this, he really would need to have a serious talk with Donghyuck, and the idea of that left Jungwoo feeling queasy.

But for now, the moment was too fresh in his mind, so it left him with a small smile he couldn’t seem to shake. That is until he unlocked the door to his apartment later that evening.

“Really, Woo. Really.” Lucas looked like he had been waiting for him for quite a while, and Jungwoo wasn’t happy to come home to face the serious version of Lucas again. Anxiety bubbled in his chest as he saw the way he was looking at him as if he was disappointed.

Jungwoo did his best to stay calm, walking into his room to throw his stuff down before taking a seat across from Lucas on the couch. “Really what?” It was hard not to sound defensive when Lucas was looking at him like that.

“What’s going on with you and Donghyuck for  _ real _ ?” Lucas pressed.

Jungwoo took a deep breath trying his best not to snap at his friend. “Didn’t we already have this conversation?” 

“Clearly not, as you apparently didn’t hear a single word I said to you.”

Jungwoo squinted his eyes at the younger. “Where is this even coming from?”

Lucas sighed, running a hand through his hair before continuing. “I told you to be careful, I told you to make sure you were certain, but one week later you’re over at Donghyuck’s making out with him?!”

Lucas’ voice was raised now, and it took everything in Jungwoo not to follow suit. “Okay, first of all, I was not ‘making out’ with him, actually I’ve never even kissed him! Second of all, I know you’re my best friend and you’re looking out for me but why are you so invested! Who even told you?” Jungwoo’s eyebrows shot up upon the realization. “Oh my god, Mark! You two are talking again?”

Despite Jungwoo asking the last question is a curious tone, Lucas seemed to still take it as an accusation. “He just texted me to ask me what the hell was going on between our best friends, okay! And look, I’m sorry if I’m being over the top, but I know a lot more than you do.”

“What does that even mean?!” Jungwoo stressed.

Lucas sighed, standing up to make his way to his room. “Just be careful, please. I promise I’ll stay out of it, but seriously come talk to me if you need to.”

The shift in Lucas’ tone threw Jungwoo for a loop. Was he really conceding that easy? Jungwoo let his shoulder’s sag in relief. He hated it when they fought.

“Wait.”

Lucas glanced over his shoulder.

“You saying you know something I don’t freaks me out, but if it’s a genuine reason explaining why you’re getting so worked up, then I’ll trust you.”

Lucas gave Jungwoo a small but tired smile.

“I promise I won’t do anything without really thinking it over, and when I have my thoughts together, I’ll let you know.”

He needed to make a plan, there were other people’s feelings involved not just his. He couldn’t just sit around hoping to eventually figure out what was going on in his head no matter how scary or confusing the outcome would be.

***

Because of the drama that centered around Saturday, Jungwoo had almost forgotten he had tests he needed to be reviewing for. The realization hit him Sunday morning and ended up stealing the whole day from him. The determination to figure out what the hell he was going to do was still there, in the back of his mind. But seeing Donghyuck on Monday morning threw the thoughts right back to the forefront of his mind.

Jungwoo was so glad that they had smoothed things over right after the incident, as seeing Donghyuck now felt less daunting than he knew it would have if they didn’t. There was clearly a lot that needed to be said between the two, but at least for now there was no awkward air.

Jungwoo contemplated whether or not to bring up the whole Lucas and Mark thing and ultimately decided to. It might bring some awkwardness, but it was rather important information he thought.

“So, Mark texted Lucas the other night,” he said as Donghyuck took a seat.

Donghyuck quirked an eyebrow up. “Oh really now?”

“I mean, I can’t say for certain that they're talking again… but I know for a fact that Mark texted Lucas.”

Jungwoo saw realization flash over Donghyuck’s face. “I would offer to grill Mark about it cause I can usually get something out of him, but I feel like neither of us is in the position to be questioning our friend's love life right now.”

Jungwoo winced, he knew that Donghyuck could be referring to a plethora of things, Jungwoo’s recent break up being most likely. But it felt more to Jungwoo like a comment on their relationship. “Yeah… although, I could probably get Hendery or Xiaojun to talk to Lucas about it.”

“Ultimately it doesn’t really matter what they're doing as long as they don’t mess things up before we can convince them to actually talk things through with each other.”

Jungwoo really felt like a huge hypocrite at that moment. Here he was, trying to set up his best friend so he would communicate better with his partner when he couldn’t even do that himself.

“Yeah you’re totally right,” Jungwoo said with a newfound resolve. “Oh, but is it cool if we meet up to study a bit earlier this weekend, I have something to take care of afterword.”

Maybe he didn’t have to know what he wanted right now, but what he did know was that it felt like he was stringing Donghyuck along, regardless if that was actually happening or ever even his intention.

The excitement from finally making some kind of decision quickly wore off, and by the time he arrived back home that day he was an even worse bundle of nerves than before. His fight with Lucas still felt fresh, but regardless he found himself quietly knocking at his bedroom door.

Lucas sighed when he was met with Jungwoo’s puppy dog eyes, widening the door just enough to let him in.

“I’m going to talk to him this weekend,” Jungwoo said quietly, making his way over to sit at Lucas’ desk.

“I think that’s a good idea.”

“But just because I’m talking to him, doesn’t mean I have made any definitive decisions otherwise.” Jungwoo did his best to keep eye contact with his friend. “I want to know where he stands and let him know where I’m at.”

“Where are you at?” Lucas asked, keeping his voice soft. His friend looked exhausted, however. Jungwoo couldn’t help but feeling like he was adding to that.

“I like him…” Jungwoo said, that at least he knew for sure. As much as he would have liked to not have a crush on the adorable sophomore, he did. Jungwoo found it hard to believe anyone could really hate the younger, he had such a bright and cheerful personality. Jungwoo could hardly resist wanting to squeeze him in the tightest hug even when he was being snarky. He  _ knew _ he liked Donghyuck.

“Okay and?” Lucas pressed.

“And… that’s all I know for certain,” Jungwoo responded, a small pout finding purchase upon his lips as he turned his back to his friend in embarrassment.

Jungwoo heard Lucas suck in a breath. “Could you see yourself dating him? Or… falling in love with him?”

Jungwoo groaned as he practically slammed his head on the desk. “The first point in study group 101 is  _ literally  _ to not fall in love with your study mate!” he whined.

“Is that what’s really holding you back? Seriously?”

Jungwoo could hear the light chuckle woven into Lucas’ words.

“Not just that!” Jungwoo sighed, sitting back up and turning around to face Lucas once more. “You were right about the whole rebound thing… I don’t want Donghyuck to be that. I feel like there’s some sort of grace period where I’m not supposed to be dating after a big break up. And not only that, I’m not even sure I want to jump into a relationship so soon regardless!” Jungwoo gave himself a second to breathe. “I like Hyuckie, I really do. I want him to be a part of my life, but the timing is so bad.”

Lucas finally let a small chuckle out, but it sounded sad. “The timing has always been bad for you two it seems.”

Jungwoo furrowed his brow confused as to what that meant, but before he could ask Lucas was speaking again.

“I think you need to tell him all that,” Lucas said, a warm smile settling over his lips. “I’m not Donghyuck, so I can hardly speak for him. But I’m sure he would appreciate hearing that from you even if it’s not exactly what he’s been waiting to hear.”

Jungwoo slowly nodded still not certain what his cryptic messages were all about, but that was an issue for another day. “Thanks for hearing me out. But seriously, you should take some of your own advice sometimes.”

Before he could catch Lucas’ response, he slipped out of his room feeling better than he had in a while.


	8. A nervous conversation, a fall, and… burritos?

Jungwoo surprisingly ended up being thankful that his week was filled with tests as it took his focus away from his turbulent personal life even if only for a few days. While he was still wildly nervous for his little chat with Donghyuck that weekend, he was more than ready for the week to be over.

Despite his determination to make school his focus that week, he did manage to talk Hendery into snooping around to see if Mark and Lucas were actually on speaking terms again. But by the time the weekend rolled around, Hendery wasn’t able to squeeze anything out of Lucas.

They decided on meeting at a café this weekend, Donghyuck stating something about wanting to mix up their study locations each week. But Jungwoo was hardly devastated. Sure, the chairs weren’t the most comfortable, and there was a constant buzz to the air due to them being in public, but he wasn’t sure if he could handle the intimacy of Donghyuck’s dorm again. Or at least not right now.

It was late morning when they decided to meet up, so Jungwoo decided to pack some snacks for them both. But he found himself nervously nibbling on them even before Donghyuck decided to show his face. The coffee in his hand wasn’t decaf, but he wished it was as it did nothing but worsen his nerves. He knew he wasn’t going to be bringing anything personal up until much later, once they had all their work taken care of, but the longer he sat there waiting for Donghyuck to show up, the more he wanted to just get the whole conversation over with as soon as possible.

The bell above the door to the café rang and Jungwoo’s eyes quickly followed the sound.

“Sorry I’m late!” Donghyuck huffed out as he threw his backpack on the chair. “I overslept. Do you mind if I grab a quick coffee than I promise we can get started? I know you said you’ve got plans later so…” he trailed off.

“No go ahead, and don’t worry too much about that. They are flexible plans.” Jungwoo gave him a week smile, unsure if he felt better about Donghyuck finally showing up or worse.

As usual, jumping into the deep end of the statistical pool was an easy distraction for Jungwoo. Math always had a way of pulling him out of reality for a short while, no matter the turmoil that was raging on inside his head. The material for the class had gotten significantly harder since their last test and it was clear the even Donghyuck was having trouble keeping it all square.

“See, this is where the disappointment usually sets in,” Donghyuck said looking up from the question they were both stuck on.

Jungwoo rolled his eyes. “I’m not disappointed you dummy, if you actually were some genius than this class would be pointless for you. You’re allowed to not know how to do something sometimes. And also!” Jungwoo added. “I still think you are quite brilliant regardless!”

Donghyuck plastered on a face of mild annoyance but the blush that dusted his cheeks was unmistakable. “Yeah but none of that helps us answer this question,” he deadpanned.

“We can try emailing him? Or I could stay after class on Monday and ask him myself?” Jungwoo suggested.

“I mean, doing both wouldn’t hurt,” he shrugged. “I don’t think we are getting any further than this today.”

At Donghyuck’s indication that they were nearing the end of their study session, panic started to rise in Jungwoo’s chest.

Donghyuck leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out behind him. “And look, we got done pretty early too! So, you won’t have to be late for your plans,” he said after checking the time on his phone.

Jungwoo watched as the younger started to pack up his things. “Yeah… about those plans,” he started, sucking in a deep breath before having to face the conversation he had been dreading.

Donghyuck paused and looked up in Jungwoo’s direction.

“I was wondering if we could possibly talk?”

Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Talk?”

“Yeah,” Jungwoo breathed out, stretching out the sound of the words almost as if to postpone the inevitable just that much longer.

“What do you want to talk about?” There was worry in Donghyuck voice.

Jungwoo sat there for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. Where even to begin? All these doubts came flying into his head all at once. What if he was just crazy and Donghyuck didn’t actually have any feelings for him? Was he just going to laugh in his face, or sympathetically apologize for the misunderstanding? Jungwoo’s stomach churned.

“Woo are you okay?”

The nickname snapped Jungwoo out of his spiraling thoughts. He focused back on Donghyuck and the look on his face instantly erased all his worry. He knew Donghyuck cared for him to some extent, or he wouldn’t be looking at him like  _ that _ .

“I am not, actually,” Jungwoo said slowly, finally finding his words. He drew his eyes away from Donghyuck unsure if he could get the rest out looking directly at him. “I think I like you,” He paused. “Actually, I know I like you. I like you a lot, Hyuck. But I’m having such a hard time processing these feelings for you right now. And I know that’s so unfair to you, but I was in my last relationship for years so it’s taking me some time to fully step away from that.”

Gaining courage Jungwoo finally looked Donghyuck in the eyes. “I want to get to know you better, outside of this class, outside of our friend group. I want to hold your hand and greet you with a hug, and maybe I even want to kiss you… eventually,” he said, eyes wavering slightly. “That sounds like I’m making a bunch of demands, so I’m sorry. I just want you in my life, but for right now that’s all I can give you. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see where things go.”

His whole “speech” if you would call it that, left Jungwoo feeling a bit like he had just rattled off a bunch of nonsense. This was supposed to be a conversation but he had just ended up word vomiting everything he wanted to say at Donghyuck. Something in him felt like if he didn’t get all his words out right then and there then he wouldn’t ever be able to.

“I’m so sorry to unload that all on to you!” Jungwoo said quickly after watching Donghyuck try to compute all the new information he had just been given.

Donghyuck sat there for a moment in silence. “I… don’t know what to say,” he started.

Jungwoo felt his heart drop to his stomach. “That’s okay! Take all the time you need! Or if you want to pretend none of that just happened that’s cool too!” He was just trying anything at this point.

“No no no!” Donghyuck said in a rush. “It’s not that. It’s just…” Jungwoo watched him take a deep breath. “I like you too.”

Jungwoo felt like he couldn’t trust his ears, did he hear that right?

“And I think it’s a good idea to take things slow, to test things out, before real feelings get tangled up in everything. But,” he started.

Here it came. The “but”.

“I’m still terrified that we will never be on the same page.”

Jungwoo wanted to say that they would never know if that would be the case if they didn’t try, but he couldn’t bring himself to. Instead he tried his best to not let his disappointment show. This was for the best, he did the right thing talking about it with Donghyuck and ultimately that’s all that mattered.

Jungwoo put on his best smile. “Well, you are still my study buddy, so you’re stuck with me until the end of the semester at least,” he joked.

“Just because I’m scared, doesn’t mean I don’t want to test the waters…”

Donghyuck’s response left Jungwoo reeling.

“How about,” Donghyuck started, “we go roller skating on Friday! They have half priced admissions for students that day.”

Jungwoo’s smile quickly turned into a genuine one.

“I would love to!”

***

Friday took much to long to come around, and when it finally came Jungwoo could hardly sit through his classes.

He had promised to pick Donghyuck up outside of the math department when he got done with work.

“Are you sure you’re not hungry?” Jungwoo asked for the thousandth time since Donghyuck had got in his car.

“I promise I’m not! Plus, if we eat before we will barely have enough time to skate before they close!”

Jungwoo huffed but continued to drive in the direction of the roller rink.

“Have you ever skated before?” Donghyuck asked as soon as they pulled in the parking lot.

“A few times when I was younger, but I haven’t in a really long time so honestly I a bit worried, not going to lie.”

“I’m practically a pro so you don’t have anything to worry about,” Donghyuck stated triumphantly.

Jungwoo chuckled as they walked up to the building, Donghyuck grabbing his wrist to pull him along quicker. Before he knew it he was taking his first step out on the floor.

“Okay I’m really rusty,” he whined grabbing onto the side wall with a vice-like grip watching Donghyuck practically skate circles around him.

“You’re fine! Here I’ll help you, take my hands,” Donghyuck said skating backward in order to offer his arms out to Jungwoo.

“Are you sure?” Jungwoo asked. “I don’t think it’s going to be very fun for you if you have to drag me around all night,” he added chuckling.

“Just shut up and take my hands,” he responded practically prying Jungwoo’s hands from the wall. “I invited you because I want to spend time with you, going skating is just a plus.”

Donghyuck sometimes talked like he was scolding you, and that’s how he sounded in that moment as well. But Jungwoo was slowly understanding that Donghyuck wasn’t the best at verbally conveying his emotions, and when he did, they usually came out in an angry or mocking way. But regardless of his tone, he usually genuinely meant what he said.

A light blush rose to Jungwoo’s cheeks but that didn’t stop him from giving Donghyuck the biggest smile he could muster. Jungwoo watched Donghyuck try to hide his matching smile with a roll of the eyes and a sigh, but he knew it was there.

They spent the next ten or so minutes traveling around the floor in tandem before Jungwoo felt confident enough to skate on his own. Although, each time he pushed off to keep his momentum going he felt a bit unsteady.

“Can we still hold hands?” Jungwoo asked Donghyuck who was now skating next to him. He put on a show of batting his eyelashes and stuck his bottom lip out just enough to form a small pout, knowing it would only irritate Donghyuck. And sure enough the next thing he knew he was barreling into the sidewall after Donghyuck gave him a good shove.

They both burst out in laughter as Jungwoo slid down the wall landing flat on his ass, long legs spread across the floor.

Donghyuck managed to pull Jungwoo back up without any further accidents and clasped their hands tightly together.

“Come on let’s get a few more good laps in before they close,” he said gently pulling Jungwoo along.

They ended the night at a late night burrito place, both ordering the biggest one off the menu.

“Okay, maybe we went a little overboard,” Jungwoo admitted as soon as the food came out.

“Leftovers!” Donghyuck suppled before quickly landing his teeth into the tortilla.

After they both ate as much as they could, Jungwoo finally got the chance to speak up.

“I had a lot of fun tonight, but next time I choose.”

Jungwoo watched a small smile form on Donghyuck’s lips. “Next time?” he repeated.

“Of course! At the very least you’re my friend so their will definitely be a next time.” Jungwoo didn’t need to be anxious whether or not Donghyuck would agree to “next time” because the smile that settled over his lips told him all he needed to know. 


	9. Fluff, angst, and then some more angst. :D

Everything was slowly figuring itself out, and Jungwoo couldn’t have been happier.

He and Donghyuck practically spent the whole following day together, actually studying for statistics for only an hour or two. Jungwoo convinced Donghyuck to come over to his apartment that week and to bring some other work to get done as well. That way they could hang out but Jungwoo wouldn’t feel bad about taking up the only time Donghyuck had to study.

Although, Jungwoo was convinced he didn’t get all that much done. By the time the sun set they were all cozied up on the couch watching the first thing they came across on Netflix, a pizza on the way.

“So, you guys talked?” Lucas’ wide eyes peaked out around the corner as he walked into the apartment.

Jungwoo and Donghyuck groaned in unison.

“Get out or be quiet, we are trying to watch a movie,” Donghyuck snapped.

“Yeah!” Jungwoo added trying to hold back a chuckle.

“I would join you, but I wouldn’t want to interrupt,” Lucas said dramatically.

“Yeah whatever,” Jungwoo scoffed.

Before he knew it, Donghyuck was nodding off next to him.

The following days were spent apart, having to go back to reality. However, the time that was lost from classes or work was made up getting to know each other better over text.

Things were good. Easy and comfortable would be words Jungwoo would use. That is until Thursday rolled around.

Jungwoo had just finished his classes for the day, and he was on his way home when he got a seemingly frantic text from Lucas.

“_Y__ou need to get home fast, Jaehyun is here. He’s going on about how you two are getting back together? Please hurry I don’t know what to say to him.” _

Jungwoo froze in place, trying to better comprehend what he was reading. He hadn’t heard from Jaehyun at all since the last time he saw him, since they had broken up. Jungwoo had zero clue as to what he was talking about. He quickly sent a text back to Lucas stating he was on his way and practically ran back to his apartment.

Upon entering Lucas was quick to make his exit, whispering a quiet “good luck” on his way out. Jungwoo’s eyes led him to a large bouquet on the table as he slowly made his way to the living room.

Jaehyun greeted him with a smile that said “I have exciting news” and Jungwoo heart dropped through the floor. This wasn’t happening right now.

“What are you doing here Jaehyun,” Jungwoo managed to choke out, still winded from his run over but also too caught up in frantic emotion that his voice seemed to give out as he spoke.

“They offered me a job downtown. I’m going to stay,” he said like it magically fixed all of their problems.

“Okay… good for you,” Jungwoo stated carefully, afraid of where this was going.

“Aren’t you happy for me? I’m staying. We can get back together now.”

Jungwoo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. So much so that he stood there gaping at Jaehyun for what felt like minutes.

“I- I don’t even know what to say…”

Jaehyun quickly cut him off. “Say yes!”

“Do you even remember anything from the last conversation we had?” Jungwoo asked incredulously.

“Yes, you said you wouldn’t come with me if I relocated, so I didn’t.”

“You’re actually kidding me right now.” Jungwoo felt like screaming. “Jaehyun the whole point of that conversation was that I was uncomfortable with you making decisions for us that didn’t involve me. You making sacrifices ‘for me’ when I never told you I wanted that. What can’t you understand? Cause clearly you don’t.”

A quick knock at the door stopped Jaehyun from responding.

Jungwoo sighed before practically ripping the door open, not even checking to see who lay behind it.

“Hey, the freshman I tutor canceled today, so I thought I would surprise-“ Donghyuck’s words fizzled out in his throat upon seeing Jaehyun lingering behind Jungwoo. His eyes flickered between Jaehyun and the bouquet of flowers. 

“Oh, I guess I’m interrupting,” he said quickly, not even giving Jungwoo a second to respond.

“Hyuckie wait,” Jungwoo called after him as he quickly retreated back down the stairwell.

He didn’t wait, and before Jungwoo could think the door was slamming behind him as he raced to catch up with Donghyuck.

He caught him right before exiting the apartment complex. Jungwoo gently grabbed onto his hand, giving him the choice to pull back, but when he didn’t Jungwoo grabbed on a bit tighter.

“You weren’t interrupting anything. Actually, I would rather him be sent away instead of you. I’m not getting back together with him if that’s what you’re thinking, especially not after today.”

Donghyuck still looked unsure, and when his eyes flickered to something behind Jungwoo he quickly pulled his hand away.

“His face says another story.”

Jungwoo spun around to see Jaehyun standing behind him, a look of udder betrayal painted his face. He went to go turn back to Donghyuck but was met with his retreating figure. This time he didn’t chase after him.

“Was this what it was really about?” Jaehyun asked, there wasn’t anger in his voice, only hurt. “Is this why you didn’t want to work on creating a future together, why you didn’t want to move in with me, why you insisted that I relocate? Because of him? Because of ‘Hyuckie’,” he mocked. 

Jungwoo winched at Jaehyun’s use of Donghyuck’s nickname. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair trying to collect himself. “When we broke up, it had absolutely nothing to do with him. But I would be lying if he didn’t play a part in what’s happening right now.”

“First of all, we didn’t break up. We were on a break! In those few weeks you went and found yourself a new boyfriend!” Frustration flared in Jaehyun’s voice.

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

“Really Jungwoo. Everyone knows he’s liked you for over a year! Ever since Lucas and Mark started dating, from the very first time he met you. And you’re telling me that has nothing to do with why we ‘broke up’,” Jaehyun emphasized with air quotes.

Jungwoo was at a loss for words. Not because Jaehyun was right, but because he had no idea Donghyuck had liked him that long, just a few days ago he feared that Donghyuck didn’t like him at all. But the silence was a clear answer to Jaehyun.

“I chose to stay here because I love you Jungwoo. I would give up so much to be with you, and I feel like I’ve made that clear over and over. I’m so sorry I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that me doing all this for you made you uncomfortable. But everything I’ve done for you was out of love.”

And with that, he left.

***

Jungwoo stood there in the lobby for quite a while. After his astonishment wore off he was left with an achy heart and hot tears. He slowly made it up to his apartment before falling into his bed content on becoming one with the sheets.

He cried until his tears dried up and he couldn’t bear thinking about what had transpired any longer, jamming earbuds into his ears as a distraction and slowly falling asleep.

He awoke to the feeling of a dip in his bed. It was already quite late, seeing as it was pitch black in his room he guessed that he had been asleep for some time. He slowly took out his earbuds and was met with Lucas’ voice.

“Hendery and Xiaojun made a late dinner would you like to come out and have some?” Lucas asked carefully.

As much as he wanted to continue to lie in bed, his stomach protested otherwise. It had been hours since he last had eaten.

Making his way out to the living room he noticed that the flowers were gone and he was thankful that his friends were thoughtful enough to know that they were the last thing he wanted to see. He plopped down on the couch, still cocooned in several blankets, but he managed to get at least one arm untangled in order to shove the BLT his roommates made down his throat.

“Do you want to continue to be mopey or talk about it?” Xiaojun asked once Jungwoo was done with his sandwich.

“Both maybe.”

“So Jaehyun showed up?” Hendery began.

“And Mark said that Donghyuck came home pretty torn up…” Lucas added.

Jungwoo shot Lucas a curious look, as his friend raised his hands up in defense.

“Don’t even start, Mark was just checking in with us to try to figure out why he was so upset,” Lucas said.

“Mark has my number,” Jungwoo tried. But once Lucas shot him a look back, he didn’t push it further.

Jungwoo took a deep breath, preparing himself to rehash all that went down earlier.

“Jaehyun came in here all excited that he had got a better job in town and that we could get back together because of it, and I don’t know I just got so upset because it was like nothing had changed. Like he didn’t even hear one word I had ever said to him. It was so frustrating because he has always had this idea of what he thinks I want, but never actually listens to what I want.” Jungwoo sighed feeling his eyes prickle. “And then Hyuck showed up, and I think he thought I was going to get back with Jaehyun. I tried to tell him that wasn’t the case! But then Jaehyun-“ Jungwoo’s voice caught, cutting the sentence short.

“It’s okay Jungwoo, take you time,” Xiaojun said.

He really didn’t want to cry anymore, at least not today, his head hurt too badly for that.

After a moment of fighting back tears, he continued. “Jaehyun accused me of practically cheating on him like he said that Hyuck has had feelings for me for a while. And I was caught off guard when he said that, so he took my silence as confirmation and it wasn’t! Hyuck had nothing to do with why we broke up.” Jungwoo repeated except this time to his friends.

“I don’t know it was just the way he spoke before he left that got me… it really made me feel like Jaehyun does truly love me and cares for me and the only reason I feel this way about him now, and for the past few months is because…. I fell out of love with him somewhere along the way,” Jungwoo whispered. “Maybe I am the bad guy.”

This time Jungwoo couldn’t stop the tears from slipping out of his eyes.

Xiaojun quickly got up from his chair and made his way to engulf Jungwoo on the couch, squeezing him tight.

“Maybe that is the case, but that doesn’t make you a bad guy. And I know for a fact, or at least I’m pretty damn sure that Jaehyun is crazy to insinuate that you cheated on him,” Xiaojun said, Lucas nodding his head in agreement.

“Is this why you were being so weird about the Hyuck thing because you knew he had feelings for me?” Jungwoo asked Lucas, trying to steer the conversation towards something a bit lighter.

Lucas looked over at him sheepishly. “I knew if I didn’t do something Mark and Donghyuck would have kicked our asses, and like they both might be tiny but I’m pretty sure we both would die.”

Jungwoo let out a laugh, finally releasing all the tension built up in his shoulders. “But wait! If you knew Hyuck liked me why were you so concerned with him and Mark being a thing!”

“I knew he had a crush on you like a year ago! And I also knew that he was Mark’s roommate slash best friend so like you never know what could happen! But once you told me that they were definitely not a thing I slowly pieced together that he still had feelings for you, Mark helping confirm that,” Lucas responded defensively.

“But seriously,” Hendery said, bringing the conversation back and smartly avoiding another Mark conversation. “You should talk to Jaehyun, not right now, but once you’ve both had time to cool off and process your feelings. I think things would be a lot less painful for both of you if that conversation happened. But, that’s just me.”

He had a point, but Jungwoo was sure he wouldn’t be ready for that conversation for a hot minute.

“I think Donghyuck needs some time too, but I would definitely patch things up with him sooner rather than later,” Lucas added.

Jungwoo sighed, he had a lot to emotionally prepare for.

But at the end of the day, he knew he could always rely on his friends. 


	10. Jungwoo means well, costume hell, and a blonde bombshell.

Waking up the next morning Jungwoo knew the following few days were going to be rough. He was nervous about seeing Donghyuck in class that morning, and what they were going to do about studying this weekend. Even if Lucas hadn’t suggested giving him some space, he still would have. But sitting next to him in class and spending hours the following day studying didn’t seem like giving Donghyuck space.

He was half relieved when Donghyuck didn’t show up to class that day. Part of Jungwoo had expected him to skip out to avoid him. But even so, he was mostly left feeling worse than before.

He did his best to take extra good notes for Donghyuck and sent them to him as an excuse to check up on him.

“ _ Sorry, I wasn’t feeling well today. We should probably cancel tomorrow too.” _

Jungwoo sighed as he read over the text Donghyuck had sent him back. How much time was he supposed to give Donghyuck? The last thing he wanted was for them to grow apart because of this, they were finally just starting to sort things out.

He decided that he would try to talk to him on Monday, giving them the weekend to process things. Plus, he figured that Donghyuck wouldn’t skip out on class two days in a row. If he wasn’t ready to talk, that was fine. But he just wanted to try.

But to Jungwoo’s dismay, Monday morning stats class rolled around and there was no sign of Donghyuck. It completely threw his plans off, was he really that upset that he was willing to skip multiple classes to avoid him. That couldn’t be good. And the fact that Donghyuck was skipping classes made Jungwoo want to smooth things out somewhat quicker. They didn’t have to go back to the way things were, but Donghyuck couldn’t be skipping classes just because of him.

Maybe he was crazy to be waiting outside of the math department in the freezing cold, but it was the only place he knew he would for sure be able to catch Donghyuck.

And sure enough a few minutes after 8 Donghyuck popped out of the building.

“Do you need a ride?” Jungwoo asked sheepishly upon seeing the younger’s surprised face.

The surprise suddenly melted into something more unpleasant and Jungwoo felt his stomach sink.

“No,” he responded curtly but didn’t move.

“Can we talk at least?” Jungwoo tried.

Donghyuck sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Donghyuck practically stomped over to where Jungwoo had his car parked and proceeded to yank on the door handle waiting for Jungwoo to unlock it.

It took a second for Jungwoo’s mind to catch up to the fact that not only did Donghyuck agree to talk but also had changed his mind about being driven home.

“Are you going to unlock it or make us stand out in the cold for even longer?” he snapped.

Jungwoo quickly unlocked the car and jumped in, starting it and turning the heat on as quickly as he could before Donghyuck could change his mind.

“So, are you going to talk or…?” Donghyuck said after the silence had carried on for a bit too long.

Jungwoo sighed and let his eyes flitter over to the passenger seat, he still hadn’t pulled out of the parking lot.

“I understand that you’re upset, and I’m so sorry about that. But I don’t want you to have to feel like you need to avoid me to the extent of missing multiple classes,” he started. “I’m not trying to lecture you, I’m really not, but this is exactly why I couldn’t promise you more than just being just friends right now because I knew that things were still messy with Jaehyun. I didn’t think they were this messy, but still. What I failed to realize while trying to not get feelings involved was that  _ your _ feelings were already there. And so, I’m so sorry about not realizing that sooner.”

Jungwoo paused a moment, giving time for Donghyuck to speak up if he wanted. And he thought he wasn’t going to as the silence dragged on, but just as Jungwoo was getting ready to finally pull out of the parking lot and drive Donghyuck home, he spoke up.

“I’m more embarrassed at myself than mad at you actually,” he mumbled. “I shouldn’t have expected you to know how I felt because I had never told you, nor really made it all that clear to be honest… And I didn’t listen to you when you said you two weren’t getting back together. Instead I just let myself get upset for no reason.”

Donghyuck wouldn’t look over at him, instead his eyes were glued to the window.

Jungwoo let out somewhat of a relieved sigh. “How about we just say that we are both a bit at fault, but like mostly me,” he couldn’t help but add. “and just try to move forward. There are still some things I probably need to work out with Jaehyun before that chapter of my life officially closes, but right now I want to focus on us. Whatever ‘us’ is.”

Jungwoo dared to reach out and grab Donghyuck’s hand that was sitting in his lap, trying to get his full attention.

“At the very least can you promise me that you’ll stop skipping class? If you fall behind there will be no hope left for me!” he joked.

Donghyuck scoffed, clearly letting the tension of the moment finally roll off him, letting Jungwoo successfully intertwine their fingers. “I skip classes I have a good grasp on all the time, the only reason I actually show up to that one every day is because you’re there.” He said it in his usual rough tone as if it wasn’t the sweetest thing Jungwoo had ever heard. “But okay Woo, you have a deal. Now take me home,” he said tipping his head back and closing his eyes in contentment.

Jungwoo knew the air of awkwardness would last for a bit, but he wasn’t too worried. They were going to be okay.

***

The following few weeks were a whirlwind. Both Jungwoo and Donghyuck visiting home for fall break meant that it was another missed study session, but they did what they could over the phone. It probably worked out for the best anyway, more time for the dust to settle from the happenings of the week before.

By the time Jungwoo arrived back at his apartment, he was slapped in the face with the reminder that Halloween was arriving, and fast. Mostly by all the Halloween decorations the three stooges had thrown up around their apartment when he was gone. But that meant the “get Mark and Lucas to figure out their shit” plan was quickly approaching.

Since they could neither meet up at Jungwoo’s nor Donghyuck’s apartment to finalize plans, all four of them found themselves squished into a booth at the sandwich shop right outside of campus.

“Okay so, how is everyone’s schedules for this weekend? Because we need to figure out costumes and fast,” Donghyuck announced as soon as everyone was settled in and had a sandwich in hand.

“We have a roomie movie night planned for Friday, so that means we will all for sure be available that evening, I don’t see why we couldn’t drag Lucas to the Halloween shop before the movie,” Hendery supplied.

“I highly doubt it will be that hard to convince him, especially once we tell him it’s going to be for a party,” Xiaojun added before taking a huge bite into his grilled cheese.

“Okay great! Whatever costume Lucas picks, and do try to have him choose something that will be easy to be made into a couple costume, just have a size medium for Mark be held and I’ll pick it up the next morning,” Donghyuck said.

“Wait what about us!” Jungwoo said, a slight whine in his voice. “We need to be matching too! And if you’re not going to be there…”

Donghyuck thought for a moment while also giving himself the opportunity to finally eat. “Well how about we plan out our outfits now, and then you can pick it out for me and hold it with Mark’s for when I come the next day?”

“Xiaojun and I are going to be Sherlock and Watson,” Hendery cut in.

“Yeah he’s Sherlock because he’s slightly insane,” Xiaojun added.

“Well you’re Watson because you’re boring!”

Jungwoo watched Xiaojun chuck his unopened chip bag at him. “Not true! Watson nor I am boring!”

Hendery wiggled his eyebrows clearly just trying to get a rise out of his friend.

“I got it!” Donghyuck cut in. “We can be Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable! Cause you know my hair is orange… and that way I get to die your hair!”

“Wait why do I have to be Ron,” Jungwoo pouted.

“Cause I’m clearly the badass here,” Donghyuck said as if Jungwoo was crazy to think otherwise.

Seeing Jungwoo still pouting he added, “Yeah but you’ll look great as a blonde! And just because Ron’s a bit of a scaredy-cat and carries around a creepy furless hamster thing, doesn’t mean he’s not cool too!”

“It’s a naked mole rat!”

“See! Only Rons would know that.”

Jungwoo huffed seeing that he had little choice in the matter, even if he was a little excited to change up his hair color.

“Okay, but for Lucas and Mark, I was thinking like Mario and Luigi? The only problem is that Lucas has to be Luigi because he’s the taller one, like that would make the most sense, right? Do you guys think you can talk him into that?” Donghyuck asked. “Because I’m sure I could get Mark into a Mario costume. And I mean  _ come on _ , even the initials match.”

“It might be a bit tricky… but I think I have an idea,” Hendery responded.

***

Getting Lucas to accept that a Luigi costume would be best for him was a bit harder than expected as he kept pulling out different Avengers outfits, seemingly set on being Thor by the end of it.

Hendery ended up convincing him to get both a Thor and Luigi costume after mentioning that there would be a costume contest and he knew for a fact that the guy putting on the party was a huge Luigi fan specifically. It was a huge lie, none of them even knew whose party this was, only that Donghyuck got them all invited. But mentioning a competition always got Lucas worked up so it was a good plan.

The next thing Jungwoo knew he was sitting in Donghyuck’s bathroom, his scalp seemly burning off.

“Is it supposed to hurt this bad!” he whined.

“I mean yeah?”

The questioning tone in Donghyuck’s voice did nothing to settle Jungwoo’s nerves. He was going to end up bald.

“I do this all the time; I promise it will be fine!” Donghyuck said as he painted some of the extra bleach onto his own roots.

They had spent the majority of the day catching up on their statistics work they fell behind on after not being able to officially meet the last two weeks. Now that they had an actual project to do on top of the normal studying they did, squishing it all into one study session was a lot. But Jungwoo knew Donghyuck didn’t have a choice, so there was nothing he could really do about it. Plus, it wasn’t really all that bad, the longer they had to study the more time he got to spend with Donghyuck.

It was rather late by the time they started bleaching Jungwoo’s hair, so they weren’t surprised this time when Mark made his way into the dorm.

“God please warn me before you decided to bleach your hair Donghyuck,” Mark said upon walking in, hand coming up to pinch his nose.

“It’s Jungwoo’s hair that I’m dyeing actually!” Donghyuck yelled back.

“Poor soul,” Mark responded, finally getting a good look at the damage. “Why are you letting him do this to you.”

Jungwoo glanced up at Donghyuck unsure how much they were revealing to Mark.

Taking the hint, Donghyuck responded. “We are going to be Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable for Halloween, so clearly Woo’s hair needs to be blonde.”

“I haven’t even started thinking about what I want to be for Halloween,” Mark thought out loud.

“Oh, I’ve already got you a costume don’t worry about it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re not going to drag be to another party are you.” Mark whined.

“What part of ‘don’t worry about it’ did you not just hear?”

Mark left the bathroom mumbling something under this breath.

“That was kind of harsh,” Jungwoo chuckled after he knew Mark was out of earshot.

“I can’t have him putting the dots together, especially since there is a good chance that Lucas and Mark are still talking occasionally,” Donghyuck explained. “ _ Especially _ when it’s about us. But don’t worry, I’ll get him there.”

Jungwoo decided to trust him, he had no doubt that he would have little trouble dragging Mark anywhere.

“Alright, let’s rinse this out and see how it’s looking,” Donghyuck said, shoving Jungwoo towards the bath.

This had been the third time they had bleached his hair in one go so Jungwoo was praying this would be the last in fear that he would be going as Ron’s naked mole rat instead. Donghyuck turned on the faucet and held his hand underneath until it got to a decently warm temperature before telling Jungwoo to stick his head under the stream.

As much as Jungwoo was ready to be done with this whole experience, he would miss Donghyuck’s hands being tangled up in his hair as much as they had been for the last few hours.

“Let’s dry it and see, but I think it’s done.”

Donghyuck pulled out the hairdryer one last time, before spinning Jungwoo around to face the mirror finally letting him see the finished product.

“It’s a bit yellow but it’s not bad, nothing that can’t be fixed with a bit of toner. Not to mention Ron literally has yellow hair so…”

Jungwoo threaded his hand through his now slightly crispy hair surprised at how much he liked it.

“Alright, help me wash the bleach out of my hair so we can fix it up to look as good as yours!”

Something about Donghyuck was different, Jungwoo had known that possibly from the very first time he had met him. What Jungwoo hadn’t realized until recently was how badly that something different affected him. He let him bleach his hair for god sake! But he would probably let him do it again, Jungwoo would probably let Donghyuck do whatever he wanted if it meant they got to spend time together.

As Jungwoo did his best to paint in the orange on the newly bleached roots of Donghyuck’s hair, he realized that he wouldn’t rather be anywhere else in the world.


	11. A spaghetti dinner, Thor, and too many couple costumes.

Jungwoo rather enjoyed his newly dyed hair, he felt good being a blonde. Not to mention all the compliments he received throughout the past few days, that was definitely a bonus.

“Seriously anytime you want to add any color to it or ever retouch it up, let me know! I love dyeing hair. I would do it more often on myself, but I kind of like having hair so I limit how many times I bleach it,” Donghyuck said from across the room, noticing Jungwoo running his hands through it in the mirror.

“Honestly, I wasn’t too sure how it would turn out, but I absolutely love it! I definitely have the best hair in the apartment now.”

Jungwoo made his way over towards the kitchen, pulling out some pots and ingredients for their dinner.

“I can’t believe you doubted my expertise!” Donghyuck gasped overdramatically.

“No. Your hair always seems to turn out super cute! So, I wasn’t concerned about that. I was mostly worried about how I would look as a blonde, I’ve never had my hair this light before.”

Donghyuck didn’t say anything in response, instead letting a small content smile play over his lips.

“Sorry I didn’t start this earlier, it’s kind of late now…”

Tuesday’s meant tutoring days, and while Donghyuck had finished early that day, aka why he was currently sitting in Jungwoo’s apartment, it still was later than usual to eat dinner.

“It’s fine! I always eat dinner late anyway. What can I help with?” Donghyuck responded quickly jumping off the couch.

Donghyuck was just tall enough to rest his chin on Jungwoo’s shoulder, so that’s what he did as he watched Jungwoo fill up the pot with water.

“Excuse me but you’re a guest right now, which means that the only thing you get to help with is cleaning up. And that’s even if I feel like making you do that.”

A small pout formed at Donghyuck’s lips. “I’m I really only a guest, is that all you think of me as?”

Jungwoo reached behind him and pinched at Donghyuck’s cheek as soon as he set down the pot on the stove. “I can’t look at you like this; I might cry you’re so adorable,” he said moving next to pull Donghyuck into a tight squeeze. “Fine, you win. Get the garlic bread out of the freezer.”

The pout on Donghyuck’s face was instantly replaced with a bright smile before he turned around and started rummaging throughout the freezer.

Things were a bit more difficult with two people squeezed in Jungwoo’s tiny apartment kitchen, but getting to cook alongside Donghyuck was worth the extra trouble. Not to mention, he was actually pretty helpful. Jungwoo was excited to try some of Donghyuck’s cooking someday as it seemed like he could easily hold his own in the kitchen. 

Before they knew it, they were both curled up on the couch, stomachs full of spaghetti. They contemplated putting something on the TV, but neither of them could decide what to watch. Instead, they fell into easy conversation.

“I’m excited for Friday,” Donghyuck said, referring to the couples Halloween party they had all but been waiting weeks for.

“Me too. Well a bit more nervous than excited, but still excited,” Jungwoo responded.

Donghyuck hummed. “I’m mostly looking forward to our costumes. We are going to look so badass.”

“And cute,” Jungwoo added.

“But mostly cool.”

Giggles erupted between the two.

It felt good, being able to be there all wrapped up and comfortable next to Donghyuck. It felt right. Once the conversation died down a bit, silence slowly taking over, Jungwoo let his eyes fall closed. He wished on the stars under his eyelids for more time. More time to spend with Donghyuck just like this. Simple and unforced, unassuming. Just two people spending time in each other’s presence. 

***

The night of the Halloween party arrived all too soon, and suddenly Jungwoo wasn’t sure if any of this was going to work out at all as chaos erupted around him. 

“Look, Luigi is a great guy, but I’m sure I can win this competition with Thor. I feel like I better embody him than some Italian plumber, don’t you agree?” Lucas whined as Hendery tried to yank the Thor costume out of his hands. He already had the blonde wig on and was halfway done with his fake beard, and despite his nerves, Jungwoo couldn’t help but want to laugh at the scene unfolding in front of him. 

“No. None of us agree actually,” Xiaojun responded giving Hendery a pointed look seemingly trying to telepathically speak to him.

Apparently, he got the message because the next thing Jungwoo knew Hendery was running out of the apartment with the Thor costume he managed to snatch. Jungwoo and Xiaojun were quick to cover the door in case Lucas felt like chasing after him.

“Look, you have the actual day of Halloween to be Thor, but tonight. Tonight, it’s going to be Luigi,” Jungwoo did his best to make the sentence sound final.

“Okay fine. But only if you tell me why,” Lucas said crossing his arms over his chest.

Xiaojun rolled his eyes, but Jungwoo was prepared for this one. “Well, that would ruin the surprise, duh. Why do you think we’ve been so weird about it?” A perfect balance between telling the truth and still keeping the plans under wraps.

Lucas gave in with a sigh ripping of the wig. 

“Now go shave that beard,” Xiaojun joked. “Keep that mustache though!”

The two of them erupted in laughter as Lucas begrudgingly dragged himself back into the bathroom to change. 

As soon as they got him in the correct costume, they texted Hendery that it was safe to come back. Jungwoo also shot a quick text over to Donghyuck to make sure he successfully got Mark out of the door. After confirmation that everything was going smoothly on his side, they made their way out of the apartment, pilling into Jungwoo’s car and following the directions that Donghyuck had given him.

Unsurprisingly they arrived at a frat house a little outside of campus. The front yard was peppered with random cheesy Halloween decoration and people in costumes that had spilled out from inside. It was still pretty early but the grass was littered with red solo cups regardless. 

They hadn’t really had a plan past getting them both at the same party at the same time, or at least that’s all Jungwoo had been told. So as soon as he found a parking spot, he quickly shot Donghyuck a text. He wasn’t sure how quickly he was going to receive a response so as soon as Lucas got out of the car, he shot nervous looks at his friends in the backseat.

It was strikingly obvious even before they entered the house that this was a  _ couple’s _ costume party. He worried that Lucas would catch on right away, scared that he would put it together and bounce or worse, get shit faced before 10 PM.

As soon as they walked in Jungwoo’s eye frantically searched the place, hand still gripped tight on his phone in case Donghyuck decided to text him back. After a moment’s panic, he spotted an orange tuft of hair from across the room.

“I found Hyuck, keep him occupied and half sober until I figure out where we go from here,” Jungwoo whisper yelled at Hendery and Xiaojun, Lucas already meandering off.

As soon as Jungwoo got close enough to Donghyuck to get a good look at him, he momentarily forgot what he was doing. He looked great, so great that it dared to take his breath away. He had done his makeup, it was subtle but Jungwoo could tell. Not to mention the costume fit him a bit too well. Donghyuck really did look like a badass, far from cute. Jungwoo’s eyes glossed over every inch of him before landing on his eyes and by the look in them, Donghyuck was probably going through something similar.

“You look amazing!” Donghyuck exclaimed breaking Jungwoo out of his trance.

“You two weren’t kidding about doing a couples costume,” Mark remarked, or rather Mario. He also looked great but the fake mustache had Jungwoo giggling. “Actually, speaking of couple costumes, why do I see so many?” 

Mark had asked innocently enough but Jungwoo shot Donghyuck a panicked look anyway.

“Oh hey! Is that someone dressed at Luigi? What are the chances!” Donghyuck quickly spat out, pointing a finger directly at the back of Lucas’ head.

Jungwoo wanted to cry a bit, all the planning, all the work, all that waiting just for it all to add up to this very moment. And that’s all Donghyuck had come up with.

“You have to go talk to them!” Donghyuck added, shoving Mark in Lucas’ direction.

“Really! Really, this is the plan? And you dare to wear that Kim Possible costume,” Jungwoo quickly said under his breath.

Donghyuck just shrugged. “Sometimes you just got to keep it simple.”

They watched Mark apprehensively walk up to the mystery Luigi, but it was clear that he recognized who it actually was once he got close enough. He froze in place, which caught the eyes of Xiaojun and Hendery standing on the other side of Lucas. Their hesitation leading to Lucas turning around and being faced with his ex, once again at a party.

They both stood there for a second, seemingly frozen in time, before Mark spun right back around and marched his way back up to Donghyuck.

“I can’t believe you set me up!” He said, jamming a finger into Donghyuck’s chest.

“I didn’t set you up,” Donghyuck replied, big innocent eyes blinking. “I just gave you an opportunity to genuinely talk things over with him.”

Mark groaned. “Seriously a couples costume party though? Mario and Luigi? Are you for real?”

“Shoo shoo, go find somewhere quiet to talk with him. I highly doubt you’ll have any trouble talking him into sitting down with you. But you might want to hurry, he’s headed for the drinks pretty quickly.”

They all knew that this was a conversation that needed to be handled sober, so Mark was given little time to truly think over the decision before he was running off in the direction that Lucas was last seen.

“We successfully gave them a push, now it’s all up to them. Now come dance with me,” Donghyuck said pulling Jungwoo towards the crowd of people on the makeshift dance floor.

Jungwoo wasn’t someone who was a wallflower when it came to dancing at parties, and seemingly neither was Donghyuck. Before he knew it they both had matching grins on their faces, and Jungwoo knew that if it wasn’t for the blaring music their laughter would have filled the room. 

As they danced, swinging around and swaying together, Jungwoo decided that Donghyuck wasn’t just someone he wanted to be around, he was so much more to him than just that.

Jungwoo untangled one of his hands from Donghyuck’s, threading it in the longer bits of hair on his nape as he pulled him in close. He paused, noses only an inch apart, as he gazed into Donghyuck’s eyes. Seconds went by as he held him there, but neither of them moved. Suddenly Donghyuck was ripping his other hand out of Jungwoo’s hold and Jungwoo almost pulled away. But when he felt two warm hands come up to grasp his face. He let himself fall. 


	12. Stressful finals, a stressful conversation, and a not so stressful question.

With Halloween come and gone the leaves were barely holding onto the trees before the first cold snap of winter hit them. It also meant that finals were just around the corner. Jungwoo had found himself picking up Donghyuck from work more often, as it had gotten substantially colder in the past few weeks, not to mention darker. Plus, picking up Donghyuck meant getting to spend time with him. With the end of the semester approaching Donghyuck was especially busy, his tutoring sessions lasting late into the evening not to mention the extra coursework he had to juggle, so they didn’t get that much time to spend with each other to begin with.

But Saturdays turned into a whole day ordeal, that’s where they made their time up. They spent most of the day cooped up either at Jungwoo’s apartment or Donghyuck’s dorm studying away on various things. But they always ended the night with a movie.

“Let’s watch The Princess Bride!” Donghyuck suggested upon coming across the title. It had been a good 20 minutes and they still hadn’t decided.

“Deal!” Jungwoo yelled from the kitchen, waiting for the popcorn to finish popping.

Unsurprisingly Donghyuck was out like a light thirty minutes into the movie. Jungwoo decided there was no point in not finishing the movie himself and risking waking up the younger by moving, so he sat there running his hands through Donghyuck’s fading orange hair. It had started to grow out again, just slightly. His dark roots peeking through, giving away the illusion that he didn’t grow that color naturally. Jungwoo wouldn’t be lying if he said he missed the silvery purple he had at the beginning of the semester, but this color felt familiar now, it suited him.

Jungwoo heard the door unlock and quickly brought his finger up to his lips, signaling Lucas to be quiet.

“Looks like I could have stayed over at Mark’s after all,” Lucas whispered.

Jungwoo rolled his eyes. “You know you can always just text me to keep Hyuck here for the night.”

Lucas shrugged. “Neither of us knows whether you guys are official yet, so we don’t want to force you two into an awkward situation.”

The statement sounded innocent enough, but Jungwoo knew all his friends had been giving them little nudges the past few weeks. Ever since they practically caught Donghyuck’s tounge down his throat at the Halloween party, that is. 

“I’m meeting up with Jaehyun on Friday,” Jungwoo responded.

Lucas’ eyebrows shot up, and Jungwoo could tell he was doing his best to keep his voice down. “So you’re actually going to listen to us for once!”

“When do I not listen to you guys!” Jungwoo threw back. “But seriously, I think I’m ready. Ready to talk to Jaehyun, yes. But mostly ready to pepper Hyuckie with kisses whenever I want, and to hold his hand in public and have it mean something.” Jungwoo brought his eyes back down to the boy sleeping on his lap, a soft smile spreading over his face as he ran his fingers through his hair once more.

He had been thinking of reaching out to Jaehyun ever since the Halloween party, maybe even before that. But he knew he hadn’t been ready to face him again then. Technically, he could have just left things alone, severed ties with Jaehyun completely. But that didn’t seem right to him. Just because they were no longer a couple, didn’t mean that Jungwoo had stopped caring about him. Plus, he didn’t feel right officially starting things with Donghyuck until he completely closed the door with Jaehyun, the right way. 

And so, a week later he found himself sitting downtown at a small café waiting for his ex to arrive. Jungwoo thought he would be more nervous than he was, sitting there preparing himself for the conversation he had been avoiding. That’s not to say there weren’t some butterflys fluttering around in his stomach. But as the bells above the door rang, signaling his arrival Jungwoo finally felt ready.

They greeted each other with matching awkward smiles before Jaehyun sat down, not even bothering to order a drink. Jungwoo’s coffee had already gone cold, only a single sip taken.

“Did you tell Donghyuck that you were meeting up with me?” Jaehyun started.

Jungwoo sighed, he really didn’t want this to be all about Donghyuck again. “Yes, of course. He didn’t talk to me for days after last time.”

Jaehyun didn’t respond to that, so Jungwoo took it as a cue to bring up what they were really here for.

Jungwoo spoke slowly, letting every word weigh on his tongue. “I owe you an apology to start off with, I felt so frustrated that you wouldn’t hear me, that you wouldn’t understand that I felt like I was holding you back. And you kept pushing this narrative that I was just saying these things because I felt like I had to, that I really wanted you to stay around but I couldn’t tell you that. But that wasn’t the case at all.”

Jungwoo paused, gathering his breath, trying his best to stay calm. “I genuinely wanted you to go off and do amazing things because I knew you could, and I just saw myself as someone who was holding you back, and I let those feelings overtake me to the point where I was pushing you away, and I’m so sorry for that. I’m so sorry for getting upset that you were trying to keep us together, that you were trying to fix things and that I couldn’t... or rather refused to realize that. I’m sorry I hurt you by not properly communicating my feelings to you from the beginning.”

Silence engulfed them after Jungwoo had finished, but the look on Jaehyun’s face said that he had figured out that was the case at some point since their last meeting.

“And I really don’t want to drag him into this, but I have to add that Donghyuck had nothing to do with why we fell apart. It really hurt me that you would think that, but I understand why you put that together. Before that day I hadn’t even really known he had feelings for me, I was still trying to figure out how I felt about him. You don’t have to believe me, but I wish you would. I would never cheat on you Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun sighed, finally breaking his silence. “It was wrong of me to accuse you of that Jungwoo, I’m sorry. And,” he took a deep breath, “I- I do accept your apology but it does hurt me deeply that you had given up on us for my sake. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you had to. And I’m sorry for not taking what you were telling me at face value.”

The heavy air between them was still there but the dust had settled and what was left was two people with wounded hearts.

***

Jungwoo decided to wait until the stress of finals passed before making things official with Donghyuck. As much as he finally wanted to be able to call him his boyfriend, it still didn’t feel like the right time just yet. Not to mention that he only had to wait two more weeks.

“You’re really going to make the poor boy wait even longer!” Hendery shrieked upon hearing Jungwoo’s plan.

“It’s only been like a few months, barely!” Jungwoo responded defensively.

“For you! He’s been waiting around for over a year for you to ask him out!”

“O-oh yeah,” Jungwoo stuttered. He completely forgot about that.

Despite Jungwoo knowing Donghyuck was insanely busy, and that the next two weeks would fly by because of that, Hendery’s words bothered him.

“So, are you going to go ask this boy to be your boyfriend finally, or are you just going to continue pushing it off? You know, there’s no better time than the present!” Hendery pressed.

Jungwoo groaned at his friend, but he did have a point.

“Go now. Before it’s too late, and he finds some boy who’s more willing to commit to him than you are,” Hendery said getting up to throw a pair of shoes and a coat at his roommate.

“But he’s tutoring right now!” Jungwoo whined.

“And?” The next thing to be thrown was his apartment keys. “I don’t think he’s going to be that bothered by a confession at work. He might even be flattered!”

“I feel like that’s definitely fake but okay.”

Adrenaline rushed through Jungwoo as soon as the cold November air hit his lungs. He had zero plan and it wasn’t like the library was far enough for him to make one on his way there. Before he knew it he was running, in fear that if he didn’t get there as fast as he could he would turn around, letting his nerves get the best of him.

When he entered the library, he quickly realized that he had no clue where Donghyuck was. Chances are that he was on the second floor as there were small private rooms up there, and Jungwoo felt like it made sense for tutoring sessions to be held in them. So, that’s where he started.

After looking in almost every room, Jungwoo worried that he would have to scour the entire library to find him. That is until he saw two boys walk into one of the empty rooms he had passed by earlier. One had jet black hair and big glasses perched upon his nose. He looked like a serious kid until Jungwoo saw him smile, eyes disappearing into small crescents. The other boy Jungwoo hadn’t seen right away because he was hidden behind a bookshelf, but once he moved forward to enter the room there was no mistaking who that was.

Jungwoo felt like running again, so he did. He ran straight down the aisle of books until he hit the door that they had entered into. Without properly thinking he ripped open the door.

Donghyuck’s back was turned towards the door and he didn’t look to see who it was as he was digging books out of his bag.

“Uh… Sorry but I’m pretty sure we’ve got this room rented out for the hour,” the dark-haired boy said.

Donghyuck finally turned around to face him and when his eyes met Jungwoo’s the words just fell out of his mouth.

“Be my boyfriend?” Jungwoo asked, still slightly out of breath from his sprint.

Donghyuck just stared up at him in confusion as to what exactly was happening.

“Uhhhh, Donghyuck do you know this guy?”

Donghyuck finally moved, head slowly turning towards the boy.

“This is Jungwoo, my… um,” Donghyuck paused glancing back over at him but this time with a blinding smile playing at his lips. “My boyfriend.” 


End file.
